As it was Meant to Be
by PrincessForever
Summary: How things came to be as they were meant to be...a Marauders story featuring interesting love combinations, death and destruction and lots of snogging! Chapter Seven is UP!
1. Lily's Owls

As It Was Meant to Be  
  
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Author's Introduction:  
  
As you may have noticed, my lovely Harry Potter fan fiction, "Falling Through Glass" has died. It's kind of hard to continue a story when one of the main characters is abruptly KILLED (curse you, J.K.). But since our friend Mr. Black is my favorite character to write, I decided to continue writing about him. And the only way to do that was to go into the past.  
  
This story takes place in the Marauders' seventh year at Hogwarts and is told from the perspective of Lily Evans (Potter). Some of the OC's you will recognize from "Falling Through Glass". Others, you will not. But I hope you enjoy this story, just the same. And so begins "As It was Meant to Be".  
  
(everything you recognize from the Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling; everything else belongs to me)  
  
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Chapter One: Lily's Owls  
  
A torrential rain slapped against the windows of the Evans house. It had been raining like this for three months straight it seemed-the coldest, rainiest summer in ten years, according to the newscasters. Rarely, the sun would peek through the clouds as if to tease, but would disappear again moments later leaving nothing but cold and rain. It had, in fact, rained so much that people's lawns were drowning. The only lawn in Surrey that was not drowning was the lawn at the Evans house.  
  
This was largely due to Lily Evans' skills as a witch. Every time she saw that the lawn was getting a bit too much rain, she did a simple evaporating spell and everything was back to normal. Her parents would kindly turn their heads when Lily did this as they knew that she was not supposed to be doing magic so obviously in front of Muggles (a term which they proudly bore). They still, however, found ways of rewarding her for keeping the lawn alive-things like being allowed to use the car or being allowed to have a weeklong holiday in France with her friends from school. Therefore, for Lily, it had been a relatively pleasant summer, all things considered.  
  
Still, the rain was beginning to get to her that late August day. She wasn't a terribly good driver and wasn't too thrilled with the prospect of driving in the rain for more than a few minutes at a time. It was too rainy to walk anywhere and the house seemed to be getting smaller by the minute, largely due to the activity in her sister's room next door. Petunia Evans, Lily's older sister, had found that spending the time with her boyfriend Vernon Dursley was an ideal use of the rainy weather. From the sounds that emanated from the room next door, Lily could tell that they were not playing cards, but her tastes prevented her from guessing what was going on beyond that. Her sister Petunia being very thin and bony and Vernon only being describable as "large", the images that continuing her train of thought brought to mind were beyond disturbing.  
  
Trying to block out the nearby sounds, Lily lay down on her bed and began flipping through pictures she had taken that year at school. The main people who kept showing up in the pictures and waving were her two best friends, Anaral Karadhras and Shannon Callahan, Anaral with her amazingly long blonde hair and Shannon with her sparkling blue eyes. And there was Lily, always in the middle with her deep red locks. As she looked at their smiling faces and waving hands, Lily couldn't help but think, Only a week and a half left until school.  
  
School, for Lily, was an escape. She attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for she, Lily Evans, was a witch. Nine months out of the year, she would learn how to do magic of various types in the magnificent school. Lily's best (and favorite) class was Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Beata, a retired Auror from Italy. Lily especially liked how Professor Beata taught mostly from her experiences, rather than from a textbook. She wanted to be an Auror herself one day, fighting against dark wizards and keeping the world safe. So far, she was well on her way, having received several Outstanding O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) and being in mostly N.E.W.T. classes (N.E.W.T.s being the "Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests" which qualified a witch or wizard for work in a specific field).  
  
Lily twirled a piece of red hair around her pointer finger as she thought about the classes she would be taking this year-her seventh and final at Hogwarts. While Anaral was in all of her classes, Shannon was studying to be an apothecary and was only in N.E.W.T. level Potions with the other girls. Lily and Anaral also had on their list Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Basic Concealment. The week before, she'd gone to Diagon Alley with her mother to pick up her books and supplies. She'd hoped to run into Shannon and Anaral there, but found out later that they wouldn't be in Diagon Alley until a few days before the start of the term.  
  
Still, it had been a delightful trip. Her mother, proud of her work in school, had agreed to buy her something she'd never had before: an owl. The beautiful barn owl was now sitting patiently in her cage, preening. Lily hadn't an idea what to name the owl; she was wavering between Taliesin and Pendragon. She was about to open the cage and let her owl parade around the room as he had become accustomed to doing, when there was a sudden tapping at her window. She was delighted to find outside two owls, one from Anaral and the other from Shannon, each bearing a letter in its beak. She opened the window and they flew in, dripping water all over the place and depositing the letters on her desk.  
  
Anaral's letter was sealed with what seemed to be expensive sealing wax. She was the last in a very famous, very old wizarding family, dating back to the prehistory of England, and her father tended to have a lot of money. Still, Lily had become so used to the violet sealing wax and the large letter "A" printed on it that she didn't hesitate to rip the letter open.  
  
Dear Lily,  
  
Shannon and I both arrived at Diagon Alley last night; it's a shame you couldn't be here with us. It just isn't the same without you. Anyway, it's just as rainy here as it is in the rest of England, so we've been shuffling around between shops under these horrid umbrellas that my mother bought. They smell like Limburger cheese.  
  
We've run into several people since being here, people like Gilderoy Lockhart (I swear, he does whitening spells on his teeth every night), Bellatrix and Andromeda Black (their sister Narcissa brought them), the Marauders (of course), and Severus Snape. James Potter was, as usual, asking about you, but we didn't give him any information, so he got bored with us pretty quickly. Sirius Black, on the other hand, stuck around for hours on end. . .but I expected him to.  
  
What time are you getting to King's Cross on the first? Let me know.  
  
Love, Annie  
  
Lily sighed. The Marauders were a group of boys who lived in the same house at Hogwarts as Lily and her friends. They were all seventh-years, and, as Lily had thought up until about three months before, not worth the time or effort it seemed to take to befriend them. The most noticeable Marauder by far was James Potter; he seemed to be the leader of the pack. For the majority of the past six years at Hogwarts, Lily had found James to be annoyingly arrogant, always messing up his dark hair and winking his hazel eyes at whomever he could find at the moment. He seemed to have taken a liking to Lily right from the start, but he, up until the end of the term that past spring, had disgusted her.  
  
The end of the previous year had been a bit chaotic. Lily's house, Gryffindor, had won the annual House Championship, and her entire class had taken a trip to Stonehenge on the last day. For the majority of the day, Lily had managed to avoid James (which wasn't easy, considering that Anaral had just started dating James' best friend Sirius Black), but as they were leaving, she caught him looking at her with a look of such genuine interest and admiration that she couldn't help being caught off guard. From that moment and for the rest of the summer, Lily had found it impossible to stop thinking about James for more than a moment or two.  
  
Unwilling to dwell on the fact that she'd missed him, she moved on to Shannon's letter.  
  
Dear Lily,  
  
I saw Annie sit down with a quill and parchment to write you a letter, so I figured I would do the same. Have you looked through the new Potions book yet? Anything I should be worried about?  
  
Annie has spent most of her free time today with that Sirius Black. I don't really mind; he's not as bad as James. And he seems to really like her. Remus Lupin couldn't make it this week, but that Pettigrew character was here. He's not terribly talented, is he? Ah, well. I'm sure he'll find something to do with his life, once he's through at Hogwarts.  
  
Annie's parents have been really worried about something lately, though I'm not sure what. They keep sneaking off to their room early to talk (yes, really, to talk). It's making Annie nervous. I told her it was nothing to worry about, but I don't think that I believe that myself.  
  
Anyway, can't wait to see you on the Express!  
  
Love, Shannon  
  
Lily felt moderately cheered to read her friends' letters, and wrote back immediately. She also toyed with the idea of writing to James, but figured that seeing him on the Hogwarts Express would be enough for the time being. Everything finished, she sent the owls off to deliver their letters, by which time the noise next door had died down considerably. The rain seemed to have let up a bit, too, but just as Lily was about to leave her room and go downstairs for something to eat, there was a knock at her door. She opened it to find a furious-looking Petunia standing there, holding an owl, and hastily wrapped in a dressing gown.  
  
"LILY, KEEP YOUR STUPID OWLS OUT OF MY BUSINESS!" she shrieked.  
  
"I was keeping my owls out of your business," Lily answered calmly. "I don't know where this one came from."  
  
"Like hell you don't!" Petunia's voice lowered in volume. "I don't want Vernon to know anymore about your. . .your freaky habits! Mum and Dad should have thrown you out a long time ago, when you first started acting like this."  
  
Lily grabbed the owl out of her sister's hands, and it hooted loudly. "Why, Petunia? Ashamed that you aren't able to do magic? Think that if I'm gone, Mum and Dad will love you more or something?"  
  
Petunia looked fit to be tied, but before she could come up with an adequate response, Lily stepped back into her room and closed the door. She was too happy to see this letter to want to deal with her sister at the present moment. The handwriting on the envelope betrayed its contents-the letter was from James Potter.  
  
The seal was Gryffindor red and gold, but Lily could hardly be bothered to be impressed with a seal. She ripped the letter open and watched the papers flutter to the floor. She bent to pick them up, blew the dust off of them, and read.  
  
Evans,  
  
Well, hello. I'll bet you weren't expecting a letter from me. I tried to ask your friends where you were, why you weren't at Diagon Alley with them, but they weren't feeling too free about giving away information. Seemed to think I would use it for evil, rather than for good. I finally got Sirius to pry the information out of Annie-I hope she's not too mad at him for that one.  
  
Anyway, how's your summer been? Awfully rainy, isn't it? We were planning a trip to the beach, but the rain cancelled it. I offered to do a couple of sunshine spells for my mum and dad (found those in an old copy of the Standard Book of Spells-they're illegal now, though. Can't imagine why), but my mum said it wasn't worth getting sent to Azkaban over a couple of rain clouds. So no beach for us. I did, however, manage to talk them into getting me a Nimbus 1100 for the new Quidditch season. You should see it- it's bloody cool.  
  
I suppose I'd better get to the point of this letter. I know we haven't gotten along very well in the past six years, and I was just thinking, since it is our last year at school, do you think we could put it all behind us and be friends? It might be very hard otherwise, as Sirius and Annie don't seem to be willing to separate anytime soon. Let me know.  
  
Sirius is living with me and my family now. . .I don't know if Annie or Shannon mentioned this in their letters to you. His family is getting involved in some pretty bad stuff. . .something about a dark wizard. I'm not sure the details of it, but in any case, it's great having him at my place. It's like having a brother.  
  
Well, Evans, I hope the rest of your summer goes well. See you on the Hogwarts Express.  
  
Peace, James  
  
Lily felt a giggle bubbling up in her throat and could barely talk, lest she let it escape. She twirled around and finally landed on her bed, staring at the ceiling. James had written her a letter. The year before, she wouldn't have cared at all, but now-it was the best thing that could have happened. She was still smiling as she drifted off to sleep.  
  
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A/N: And so begins the story that begins the story. . .and so on and so forth. I was planning on starting Lily and James' story in their first year at Hogwarts, but I was too impatient to have them fall in love. So here we are in the seventh year. Most of the stories of the previous six years will be told throughout this story, so by the time it's over, you should have a pretty good understanding of how we all got to where we are now. But in any case, write me a review, and happy reading! 


	2. The First Day of the Last Year

As it was Meant to Be  
  
A/N: Two lovely reviews, almost immediately after posting this story! Thanks for reading and reviewing so quickly, my dear readers.  
  
So anyway, I forgot to mention in my last chapter that everything you recognize from Harry Potter belongs to the brilliant J.K. Rowling, and everything else is mine. Don't take it. *gives you stern look*  
  
In any case, here is chapter two of the love story of James Potter and Lily Evans. We'll finally be seeing the Marauders and meeting Lily's best friends Shannon and Anaral. And we'll be seeing how Hogwarts was, years and years before Harry ever arrived.  
  
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Chapter Two: The First Day of the Last Year  
  
"Lily, are you ready to go yet?" Her mother's voice echoed down the hallway. "Your father is waiting out in the car!"  
  
As it had been all summer, it was raining outside, and Lily was trying to squeeze a few last minute things into her trunk. Her owl (whom she had finally named Taliesin) was hooting downstairs and she could only imagine how much her family was enjoying it. She finally gave up on trying to get the trunk to stay closed with non-magical means and conjured some braided rope and a padlock to hold the overstuffed trunk closed until she reached her bedroom. With a final glance at her room, Lily grabbed the handle of the trunk and dragged it down the hall and down the stairs behind her.  
  
"Sorry about the wait!" she sang out, reaching the living room where her mother stood. "I just wanted to make sure I didn't forget anything."  
  
"Of course, dear," her mother said tolerantly, handing Lily an umbrella. "And you're sure you've got everything? I don't want another peck of owls interrupting your father and my anniversary dinner this year."  
  
Lily smiled at her mother's reminding of what happened the previous year. "Yes, I'm sure that I have everything. Even Taliesin." She patted the owl's cage fondly.  
  
"Good; that beast doesn't belong here," her sister, commented from the dining room. Mrs. Evans gave Petunia a warning glare then turned back to her younger daughter.  
  
"Don't you mind your sister; you write to us all you want, and Taliesin can stay here as long as you are," she announced with a loving smile. She pulled Lily into a tight hug and released her. "Have a good time at school, dear."  
  
"I will, Mum. And I'll write, I promise. 'Bye, Petunia!" Lily called at her sister, who didn't respond. Without waiting longer than was necessary, she hurried out to the car where her father sat waiting, the windshield wipers slapping back and forth rhythmically. She shoved her trunk and Taliesin's cage into the back of the car as quickly as she could, but she was still soaked by the time she collapsed into the passenger's seat.  
  
"Bit wet out, eh?" Mr. Evans quipped as he backed out of the driveway.  
  
"You'd think so, wouldn't you, Dad?" Lily answered with a laugh, wringing out her hair. "I'm soaked to the bone!"  
  
"Do they give out towels on that train of yours?" He was still smiling as they began the drive to King's Cross Station. "I certainly hope so."  
  
"They should," Lily answered with a shrug. "They always give us food. . .granted, we have to pay for it, but still. . ."  
  
"Speaking of which, do you have your money?"  
  
"Yes." Lily held up a small leather pouch that jangled with the sound of coins: gold Galleons, Silver Sickles and Bronze Knuts for which her father had exchanged a great deal of Muggle money. "It should be enough to last me until Christmas; if not, I'll be able to withdraw some from the Gringott's in Hogsmeade."  
  
Her father thought about it for a second then laughed as he finally figured out what Gringott's and Hogsmeade were. "Lily, I love how your vocabulary changes every time you come back for summer vacation. Do you suppose your mother and I would ever be allowed into Hogsmeade? It sounds like a fantastic town."  
  
Mr. Evans had a deep interest in anything fantastic or related to anything outside the Muggle world. He was exactly the kind of Muggle most wizards dreaded meeting; it always would seem a shame to put any sort of memory charm on them. She smiled and patted his arm affectionately. "Perhaps for my graduation from Hogwarts." To be honest, she wasn't sure what would happen when she graduated from Hogwarts, but she assumed that all family, Muggle or not, was invited to the ceremony. It would certainly make her father happy to see the ins and outs of the wizarding world. "I'll talk to the Headmaster about it."  
  
"You do that, Lils." Her father then sighed. "I doubt Petunia will come."  
  
"Good!" Lily exclaimed, without intending to do so. "She's never wanted to have anything to do with me before; why mess with imperfection?"  
  
"Lily." Her father's voice had a warning tone to it. "She's still your sister. Write to her yourself and ask her to come. You never know, she might have changed her mind."  
  
"Not likely," Lily sighed, and they pulled up to King's Cross Station. Her father helped her remove her trunk and Taliesin's cage from the back of the car, found her a trolley, then walked with her to the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10.  
  
"Ten minutes," he commented, looking at the clock, and then turning to smile at his daughter. "Be good, Lily. And don't forget to write."  
  
"I won't, Daddy." Lily reached over and hugged her father tightly. "I'll see you in a few months for Christmas."  
  
He stepped back politely and nodded at her. Lily knew her father always enjoyed watching her run at the barrier between the two platforms, so she gave him a final farewell smile and ran with all her might toward the barrier, closing her eyes as always. Moments later, she was standing on Platform 9 ¾ , and her father was on the other side, still in the Muggle world.  
  
This made Lily sad for a moment, but before she could dwell on it, she heard her name being called. "Lily! Oy, Lily! Over here!" She turned and saw Anaral Karadhras waving at her, blonde braid sweeping one way and the other across her back. Lily ran to her friend and hugged her.  
  
"Sirius and James got here half an hour ago; they saved seats for you and me and Shannon. She's already in there," Anaral explained, breaking from the hug. "They sent me out here to wait for you."  
  
Lily laughed, recovering quickly from her heart skipping a beat at the mention of James Potter. "Why on earth did they get here half an hour early?" she asked as Anaral led the way to their compartment. "It seems a bit redundant, if you ask me."  
  
Anaral shrugged, but a smile bridged her face at the same time, and her cheeks turned faintly pink. "Well. . .I don't know for sure, but I think Sirius wanted to meet me early."  
  
Lily giggled, feeling utterly girlish. "Was he happy to see you?"  
  
"Well, it's not like we hadn't been visiting back and forth all summer," Anaral admitted. "Most of the time it was great fun, but then-there was this one time that his mother was visiting my mother. That turned ugly."  
  
"Why? I thought his mum liked you?" Lily stated as a question.  
  
"She does-I'm a pureblood. No, the problem was that this summer, Sirius ran away from home and was living at James' house. When his mother saw him at my house, it wasn't very pretty, on either side. His mum started yelling at him for associating with James and Remus, especially Remus. Then my mum started yelling at his mother and at me-his mother for yelling at him, and at me for not telling her that he'd run away from home." Anaral sighed heavily. "It wasn't very much fun, I can tell you that much."  
  
"Wow," Lily breathed and was about to make another comment, when Anaral stopped short and walked into one of the compartments. Lily felt her heart pounding the second she saw James. His black hair was charmingly messy, his hazel eyes twinkled behind a pair of glasses. He was lazily playing with a Golden Snitch he'd stolen during their fifth year, and was laughing at something Sirius had said. He was still laughing as he turned to look at Lily.  
  
"Hullo, Evans. Had a good holiday?" he asked.  
  
For a moment, Lily couldn't remember any words, but she finally managed to force something out. "Good morning, Potter. Yes, I had a good holiday, or at least as good as one can have living with my sister," she managed, perching on the edge of the bench inside the compartment. Anaral slipped in around her and squeezed onto the seat next to Sirius.  
  
"Lils, you've got nothing to complain about," Sirius commented with a barking laugh, dropping an arm on the back of the seat behind Anaral. His black hair was short and neatly cut, giving him a dashing appearance. But, as Lily had observed on more than one occasion, his eyes were fixed only on Anaral. "Trust me."  
  
She forced a smile at this. "I know," she answered quietly, and was about to add more, when she was cut off by a familiar face and voice.  
  
"Look who I found wandering about, being all official!" Shannon laughed, poking her head into the compartment and pushing Remus Lupin in ahead of her. "Lily! When did you get here?"  
  
Lily felt another laugh bubbling out at her friend's exuberance. "Only a little while ago. Annie found me and dragged me up here," she answered as concisely as possible then turned to focus on Remus Lupin. His robes were as shabby as usual, and he looked a bit peaky. Gleaming on his chest was a bright "Head Boy" badge. "Head Boy! Remus, that's great!" she cheered.  
  
He laughed merrily. "Just as long as there aren't any serious problems around the full moon," he commented, holding up a pair of crossed fingers. "But I'm not too worried. It should be fun."  
  
"That it should, my friend," James agreed. "We'll never get in trouble again."  
  
Remus sent his friend a withering glance before turning his attention to Anaral who was asking, "Who's the Head Girl again?"  
  
Another grin crossed Remus' face. "You'll never believe it."  
  
"Try us," Sirius dared with a crooked grin.  
  
"Well, you know her best, Sirius. It's your cousin-our friend Narcissa Black."  
  
Everyone in the compartment reacted with similar shock. Sirius was the first to speak. "Narcissa? Head Girl? How the bloody hell did she pull that off?"  
  
"One guess," James answered wryly, jangling a sack of coins. Everyone nodded in agreement. The train gave a whistle and began to move, just as the final member of their party managed to find his way into the compartment.  
  
"I finally found you!" Peter Pettigrew gasped, his watery eyes wide and shocked. "I've been looking up and down the train for the past ten minutes!"  
  
"Because we were really that hard to find, Pete," commented Sirius with a laugh. "Come in, sit down."  
  
Peter squeezed his way through the door and slid himself between Lily and the wall. "Hullo, Lily," he greeted her in a breathless way.  
  
"Hello, Peter. How was your summer holiday?" Lily asked politely, wishing that he'd breathe somewhere else. He grinned as if she'd just granted his dearest wish.  
  
"It was grand, Lily. I had the best time," he stated heavily, leaning closer to Lily. She tried to slide closer to James on the other end of the bench and father from Peter, but the latter didn't seem to be getting the hint. Thankfully, Shannon saw her plight.  
  
"Lily, fancy a trip to the loo?" she asked. Lily gratefully stood and walked with Shannon out of the compartment and down a couple of cars to the restrooms.  
  
"Thank heavens! As if James liking you wasn't enough, now you've got Peter drooling all over the place as well!" Shannon laughed, once they were out of hearing range. She adjusted a large clip in her brown curls and led the way into the ladies' room. A few fourth year girls were trying to apply makeup magically, but they quickly left once Shannon sent them a disdainful glance.  
  
"It's really quite strange," Lily admitted. "Just when I've grown used to the idea of James liking me, now Peter decides to follow in his footsteps."  
  
"Wait." Shannon had been perching precariously on the edge of one of the sinks, but she slid down when she heard this. "Lily Evans, do you mean to tell me that you don't mind the fact that James Potter is after you like a hawk?"  
  
Lily felt her face grow hot. "Well. . .I mean. . ."  
  
Shannon clapped a hand over her mouth. "Lily! Are you trying not to say what I think you're trying not to say?" Her voice was too loud. Lily looked at her, one eyebrow raised, and Shannon's eyes widened. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "You mean to tell me, in fewer words, that you're falling for James Potter?"  
  
Lily was clasping her hands over her mouth as well, to hide the enormous grin there, but she nodded just the same. Shannon squealed very loudly so that some second years that had been coming in quickly turned around and left. Lily wasn't sure whether to take Shannon's response in a good or a bad way. Shannon managed to clear things up shortly thereafter.  
  
"This is so great, Lils! I mean. . .and don't tell anyone yet. . .but Remus and I went on our first date last week."  
  
"What?" Now it was Lily's turn to widen her eyes. "What about that Muggle you were seeing, that Finnegan character?"  
  
"We-ell," Shannon looked uncomfortable. "He found out I was a witch and said he needed some time to think about it. I told him that he'd have to make up his mind damned quick or it was over between us. Well, that was at the beginning of the summer."  
  
Lily sighed and shook her head. "Boys are so dumb," she asserted, and Shannon nodded.  
  
"But, Lils, don't tell anyone yet. I don't want to get everyone excited about something that won't work out." She flashed a quick glance at the mirror and pulled a few loose curls from her clip. "Let's get back."  
  
They headed back through several cars to their compartment, where Sirius and James had picked up a typical banter and were making Peter crow with laughter. Anaral was smiling sweetly and resting her head on Sirius' shoulder.  
  
"We're ba-ack!" Shannon sang out. "Hey, where'd Remus go?"  
  
"Prefect training," James answered shortly. "Come sit down, girls; the trolley should be around any minute."  
  
Sure enough, the trolley came a few minutes later, and the friends stocked up on box upon box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Fizzing Whizbees and bottles of butterbeer. Lily was just chewing on an apple pie flavored bean when Remus reentered the compartment.  
  
"Bloody gits, the lot of them," he muttered, helping himself to one of Shannon's chocolate frogs. "Narcissa 'let it slip' that I'm a werewolf-you can guess how that went over with the prefects, especially her darling Slytherins."  
  
"My brother included, no doubt," Sirius commented with a sigh. "Don't worry about it, mate. Our opinion's more important than theirs." He went back to picking through his beans and throwing out the less favorable flavors.  
  
"And then Narcissa cornered me on the way out-said that I'd better watch my step and watch out for all of you. I wasn't quite sure what she meant."  
  
"Yeah, something strange is going on, but I don't know what," Anaral added, the smile falling from her face. "It's got my parents rather worried."  
  
Everyone was silent for a moment as the train whistle blew. Lily looked out the window and could see Hogwarts looming on the horizon. Closer, though, was the golden glow of the town of Hogsmeade. She smiled at the cheerful houses and train station behind which the sun was setting.  
  
A strange sight greeted Lily and her friends when they disembarked the train. A rather large man, holding a lantern in one hand, was calling out, "Firs' years this way!" He had a large mat of black hair and beady little eyes. Lily's eyes went wide.  
  
"You don't suppose he's a giant, do you?" she whispered to Anaral, who had taken notice of the new stranger as well.  
  
"He couldn't be-people would be furious! Dumbledore would find himself out of a job faster than James can fly a broom!" Anaral answered in a horrified whisper. "But I've never seen someone that large before!"  
  
"Neither have I," Lily answered, her voice hushed. "Perhaps Professor Dumbledore will explain tonight at supper."  
  
She and Anaral hurried to get seats in the nearest horseless carriage, where James, Sirius, Shannon, Remus and Peter were already sitting. Fortunately, Lily noted, the only space left by the time Anaral had slipped in beside Sirius, was between James and Shannon. She plopped down into the seat just as the carriage began to move. Lily was sitting opposite Anaral and Remus. On Anaral's other side was Sirius, and squeezed between Sirius and the wall of the carriage was Peter. Lily felt herself dozing off as the carriage rocked its way to Hogwarts. Vaguely, she heard her friends discussing Quidditch as her eyes slid closed.  
  
For a moment, she found herself lost in a dream. There was a house, a doorknob rattling. She heard a voice that sounded distinctively like James' calling her name. "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off. . ." There was the sound of the door bursting open and Lily's vision was suddenly filled with green light. She heard James' voice again. "Evans. . .we're here."  
  
She opened her eyes to see James smiling fondly at her. "Have I been asleep?" she murmured, rubbing her eyes.  
  
"That you have." James continued to smile. "No one else noticed; we were all too busy talking about Quidditch. I did, though."  
  
Lily blushed immediately and felt somewhat vulnerable. To cover this up, she made a big show of tightening her red and gold scarf before stepping out of the carriage. "Did you? I would have thought you would have been too busy talking about the great feats you accomplish on the pitch."  
  
For a moment, James looked stung, but the look was quickly replaced with his usual easy-going grin. "Come on, Evans. We oughtn't be late for the feast. The Sorting Hat is sure to have a new song this year." He guided her by the elbow to the swelling throng of students pushing towards the entrance of Hogwarts. Once among them, Lily almost involuntarily shook his hand off of her arm and began actively seeking Anaral and Shannon.  
  
They were already sitting in the Great Hall when she found them, Anaral with Sirius to her right and Shannon with Remus to her left. Peter was sitting across from them, looking for someone. He smiled when he spotted Lily. "Lily! Come sit by me!" he offered. Lily realized she had no other choice, besides sitting with a group of giggling fifth years. She sat lightly on the bench beside Peter, who was smiling at her as if she was Pallas Athena. It would be a long meal if she had to deal with his gawking the entire time, she realized, but before she could change her mind about the seating arrangement, Lily noticed to her delight that James had taken the seat on her right. She kept from smiling (barely) and pretended to be terribly interested in the teachers' table.  
  
Oddly, Professor Beata was not among the teachers sitting at the front. Minerva McGonagall, the House Head for Gryffindor, was talking quietly to Poppy Pomfrey, the school's nurse. Elsewhere, Professor Flitwick, the Charms professor, and Madam Hooch, the Quidditch referee and flying coach, were in a deep discussion about something. The other professors were also busily engaging in conversation with one another, but Professor Beata was not among them.  
  
Yet while she was not, the large man Lily had seen upon their arrival was. His enormous hands, face and beard seemed almost too much for the entire setting. Lily stared at him in awe, but her attention was soon drawn back to the Sorting Hat as a gaggle of First Years was escorted in behind Old Professor Delphi, the Divination Professor. She led them to the front of the hall and smiled at them mistily. Before she could open her mouth to speak, however, the Sorting Hat began to sing. Lily barely heard the song; she was busy sneaking sideways glances at James until Shannon caught her eye and raised her eyebrows as if to say, "be a little more obvious, why don't you?"  
  
Lily blushed furiously and pretended to be extremely interested in her plate. The sound of students applauding startled her, and she quickly joined in before anyone could say anything about her not. She quickly turned her attention to the front of the hall, where Professor Delphi had begun to call names off of a large line of parchment. "Anderson, Kenneth" was currently being sorted, and when the hat cried out "GRYFFINDOR!" Lily joined in the thunderous applause.  
  
"Wonder if he plays Quidditch," James remarked, staring down the table at Kenneth Anderson, a boy with curly blonde hair.  
  
"Looking at First Years for the team, mate?" Sirius asked incredulously as Lauren Cambridge joined Ravenclaw. "There are plenty of older Gryffindors who would be just as good."  
  
James shrugged. "I just need a new Keeper. You and Ariana are great Beaters, and we've already got our three Chasers. And I wouldn't take Emma off of Seeker for a million Galleons."  
  
"Don't blame you," Remus agreed, and Lily found herself zoning out, ignoring the conversation between the Quidditch players around her and the calling of names at the front of the hall. She wondered where Professor Beata was and when she would be back, and just as she'd begun to think about this, a loud applause startled her.  
  
"Our headmaster would like to say a quick word before we begin," Professor McGonagall announced loudly, and all heads turned to face the front of the hall.  
  
"I have a few brief announcements before the term begins," Professor Dumbledore stated, standing regally. "First, I would like to remind you all, especially the First Years, that the Dark Forest is off-limits to all students. You may have noticed that we have a new gamekeeper." He gestured to the enormous man a few seats down. "This is Rubeus Hagrid. He will be the keeper of the keys and in charge of all game on the Hogwarts ground."  
  
Rubeus Hagrid stood and bobbed his head rather awkwardly at the dubious applause that followed his announcement. Professor Dumbledore continued. "It is now my duty to bring you some most unfortunate news. Professor Maria Beata, your former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," (former! Lily thought) "was found dead two days ago in her native Italy."  
  
There was a murmur of conversation throughout the student body, and Lily's stomach tied itself in a knot. "Dead? How can she be dead?" Shannon whispered in shock. Lily shook her head, not understanding any better, and turned back to listen to Professor Dumbledore, hoping that the rest of his words held some further explanation.  
  
"A replacement for Professor Beata is currently being sought; in the meantime, all Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, with the exception of those at NEWT level, have been cancelled."  
  
"Wonder who is going to be teaching the NEWT class," James muttered to Lily. They were soon answered.  
  
"As for the NEWT level classes, I will take over the teaching until a suitable substitute for Professor Beata can be found," Professor Dumbledore finished, and a louder murmur of conversation rumbled through the room. "In the meantime, my advice to you, as always, is to tuck in!"  
  
And with that, food appeared on the tables, but Lily was too distracted to care. She forced herself to eat a few slices of turkey, but she wasn't very hungry when it came down to it. She was more concerned about Professor Beata.  
  
Later that night, in their room, it became apparent that Anaral and Shannon shared these concerns. "People don't just up and die," Shannon whispered, trying not to disturb the other girls in their bedroom. "Something happened to her."  
  
"I wonder if this is what my parents have been so concerned about," Anaral commented, but neither Lily nor Shannon could answer her.  
  
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A/N: If you are a true Harry Potter fan, you can probably already guess what has happened to poor Professor Beata. But that's beside the point.  
  
As I am writing this, my school's Internet has been down for two weeks. I don't know when I will get a chance to put this chapter up for review, but suffice it to say that I will probably be posting several chapters in succession over the next several weeks/days/whatever.  
  
Keep Reading! 


	3. Of Mudbloods and NEWTS

Chapter Three: Of Mudbloods and N.E.W.T.s  
  
A/N: So sorry for the long wait between chapters! The internet is finally working again in my dorm, so I can post more often. I'm really enjoying writing this story and I'm really excited about where it is going. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  
  
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Lily always hated the first day of classes. She woke up the first morning of classes feeling as if she hadn't slept at all. She'd barely been able to process the news of Professor Beata's death before getting into bed, and her dreams had reflected her concern and sadness. Her dreams had quickly fallen into nightmares with haunting voices crying out and flashes of green light. At one point, she could have sworn she screamed herself awake, but neither Anaral nor Shannon seemed to have noticed. At eight o'clock the next morning, therefore, a very tired Lily found herself sitting in the Great Hall, looking sleepily past a plate of scrambled eggs.  
  
"Schedules," Anaral murmured as a stack of parchment came down the length of the table. Lily took hers with a yawn and looked it over vaguely. She noticed that there were no other houses listed next to many of the classes and pointed it out to Anaral. "It's probably got to do with the fact that there aren't a large number of people going for N.E.W.T.s in these classes this year. So they just take all of the people from all of the houses together."  
  
"Makes sense. I've always heard that N.E.W.T. classes were smaller than regular classes." James and Sirius had entered the room, and Lily kept her eyes on her plate as her cheeks turned a deep shade of red. "I think the only N.E.W.T. classes that can only have two houses in at once are Charms and Potions; there aren't many occupations that don't require those two," James explained, downing his orange juice in one swig. "How does the schedule look for us Aurors-to-be?"  
  
"It looks like Charms, Transfiguration and Basic Concealment on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions on Tuesdays and Thursdays," Anaral answered. "We only have the four classes, but they're twice as long as usual classes."  
  
Shannon, sitting on the other side of Lily, was looking at her own schedule. "And it looks like we still have Potions with Slytherin. Ugh." She shook her head. "I'd hoped that we were through with double Potions with Slytherin, but apparently not."  
  
"And today just happens to be. . .a Tuesday!" Sirius exclaimed as if it was the most exciting thing in the world. "Bloody hell. We have Defense Against the Dark Arts first. I wonder how Dumbledore is as a teacher."  
  
Lily wasn't sure how to answer the question. She still felt a certain loyalty to Professor Beata, but how much better of a teacher could they have than Professor Dumbledore? "I think he'll be very good," she commented, sipping her own orange juice. "I mean, he's got all of those great titles, hasn't he? And I'm sure he didn't get them by being poor at Defense Against the Dark Arts."  
  
"I agree with Evans," James spoke up and Lily felt her cheeks brighten again. Shannon kicked her under the table, giggling quietly. "No, honestly. You can't have all those titles and have just sat around doodling all day."  
  
"Oh Liiiiiiiillllllllyyyyyyyy. . ." someone sang out across the Great Hall. Lily turned around to see the golden-haired, sparkling-smiled Gilderoy Lockhart walking towards her. She groaned inwardly.  
  
"Help me," she whispered to Anaral and Shannon, but before they could do anything, Gilderoy was standing mere centimeters from Lily's face, smiling blindingly.  
  
"Hello, Lily," Gilderoy said with a swagger. "I'm surprised you haven't come to say hello to me yet this year."  
  
"Ah. . ."  
  
"It's alright. I can understand how intimidating I am." Gilderoy was putting the old James to shame with his ego. Lily looked away from him and began picking at her eggs again, but Gilderoy didn't seem to take the hint. "Had a good summer, then? Glad to be back in my presence?"  
  
"Hey, Lockhart." Now James was standing and smirking at him. "Why don't you and your ego go snog in a closet somewhere?"  
  
Lily tried to keep from snickering as Gilderoy slunk away and Remus and Peter joined the breakfast table, both breathless. Peter looked like he'd fallen into the lake and Remus looked like he wanted to punch Peter. There was an awkward silence, until James finally asked, "What on earth happened?"  
  
"Peeves, that blasted poltergeist, had Wormtail cornered," Remus answered, sounding as aggravated as he looked. "He was pelting him with water balloons-wouldn't let him get by."  
  
Lily bit her lower lip to keep from giggling and took a sip of orange juice. Fortunately, Anaral and Shannon had squeezed closer to Lily, so Peter had no place to sit down. Still, he leaned across the table to give her a breathy, "Hi, Lily" greeting.  
  
"Hullo, Peter," Lily replied with as little enthusiasm as was possible.  
  
"Did you sleep well, Lily?" Peter was acting like it was his life's purpose to ask Lily questions. She sighed and pretended she hadn't heard him, reading the schedule intently. She felt very fortunate that Peter had only received a grand total of three O.W.L.s, so he was not in any of their N.E.W.T. classes. Peter would have to scrape by with just the basics in Transfiguration, Potions, Charms and so forth, and while it didn't feel right exactly, Lily didn't pity him by a long shot.  
  
James didn't seem to approve of Peter's liking of Lily any more than she did, and was glaring at his friend silently. Sirius saw this and quickly redirected the conversation to the mysterious death of Professor Beata. "Last I knew, she didn't do anything particularly dangerous over the summer holidays," he commented.  
  
"I'm pretty sure she always spent the summer visiting her sister in a convent. . .I don't remember where it was, though," Lily threw in. "I'm sure I have a postcard from her somewhere. It may be at home, but I don't know."  
  
"Why don't you try and find it later, then?" James suggested. "And I wonder if Professor Dumbledore would tell us anything."  
  
"I doubt it. There's no reason for us to know, is there?" Anaral had finished her meal and was getting up from the table.  
  
"Beyond sating pure curiosity? I suppose not," Remus stated. He'd finished his breakfast in record time and stood quickly. "Come on, mates. Classes."  
  
The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was much quieter than it had been in previous years, for a variety of reasons. For one thing, there were only sixteen students in the class, where in previous years there had been no fewer than twenty. Out of these sixteen students, only the four from Slytherin were talking loudly. The rest were whispering in wonder at what kind of teacher Professor Dumbledore would turn out to be. They were all clumped into groups based on their houses: Lily, Anaral, Sirius, James and Remus from Gryffindor; Severus Snape, Narcissa Black, Antonio Zabini and Rastaban LeStrange from Slytherin; Amelia Bones, Sarah Jones and Craig Abbott from Hufflepuff; and Ramesh Patil, Jia Chen, Naomi Smith and Mark Corner from Ravenclaw. Lily and Anaral had managed to find a desk together at the front of the classroom, with James, Sirius and Remus relatively close by.  
  
"I wonder what we'll be studying first," Jia Chen was asking aloud in the Ravenclaw corner of the room. "I mean, we've more than covered basic counter-jinxes and shielding charms and. . ."  
  
"I heard," Narcissa Black began superiorly, "that Professor Dumbledore would be bringing in all sorts of dark creatures, like vampires and werewolves." She cast a disdainful look at Remus who flushed crimson. Lily glared at Narcissa.  
  
"It's not like it's the werewolves' fault that they are the way they are. But I'm sure you wouldn't understand a thing about that-seems you were born a selfish, stuck-up bitch, weren't you?" Sirius asked his cousin sweetly, as if asking her about the weather. Now it was Narcissa's turn to redden.  
  
"Kind of like you were born a brainless git who can't even be grateful for what he has?" she snapped. "Or didn't you all know that my cousin here ran away from home this summer? Can't bother to be grateful and thankful for his family, can he?"  
  
Anaral was on her feet. "It's no wonder if they're all like you, Narcissa!" Her voice came out more high-pitched than usual, a sure sign that she was furious.  
  
"What would you know about it, blood traitor?" Now Antonio Zabini had joined in the fray. "It's a wonder you even know anything that's going on in our world, the way you're always hanging around Muggles and Mudbloods."  
  
"Hey!" James rose and stalked across the room, a vein popping on his forehead. "I don't like your language, Zabini."  
  
Lily heard most of the females in the classroom sigh, but ignored it.  
  
"Oh, what's wrong with it, Potter? Hit a little too close to home with that Mudblood girl of yours?" Antonio made a rude gesture in Lily's direction, and she felt her face grow hot.  
  
"That wasn't at all appropriate," she said in a low voice, rising from her chair and gripping her wand. "You might want to take that back."  
  
"Why should I? It's what you are," Antonio crowed as Lily approached him. James moved as though to block her from him, but she walked around.  
  
"As long as we're talking about what people are, why don't we talk about you? Nothing but a spineless jellyfish of a 'pureblood', too frightened of what might happen to him if he dares stand up for what is right. You're sickening at the very least and dreadful at the very most." Once Lily got going, it was nearly impossible to stop her train of insults. James stepped back to watching. "Or were those words too big for you to understand?"  
  
Antonio now looked like he was bordering on fury, but Lily managed to keep her cool as Dumbledore breezed in, not a moment too soon. She returned to her seat without another word in Antonio's direction, and directed her focus to the headmaster; out of the corner of her eye, however, she could see Antonio still panting in fury.  
  
"Welcome to your N.E.W.T.-level Defense Against the Dark Arts class. I trust you all know me, and I know all of you, so let's begin, shall we?" Professor Dumbledore wasted no time on introductions and simply clapped his hands. Lily found herself jumping up as her desk flew to the outside wall of the room and the room transformed itself into an emerald, bronze and green paradise. Lily wasn't the only one to gasp at this transformation. The walls soon were covered with posters of silvery-white creatures and frightening shrouded ones. Behind her, Lily heard Sirius and James whispering to each other, and James exclaimed under his breath, "We're going to learn about patronum!"  
  
"Brilliant deduction, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore stated, and Lily chuckled at James' shock that the professor had heard him speaking. "The Patronus Charm is one of the more difficult charms any of you will ever learn; however, I have no doubt that all of you will be able to master it."  
  
A ripple of nervous laughter crossed the room as everyone pulled his or her wand out to begin to learn. "The first part of the Patronus Charm is very simple-the words. Simply say, 'expecto patronum'."  
  
"Expecto Patronum," the students chorused. Anaral, Lily noted, had pointed her wand as she did so, and a faint silvery mist had emerged. Professor Dumbledore had seen this and smiled.  
  
"Several of you may have produced a bit of a silver mist already, and that is brilliant work. The second part of the charm is a bit more complicated- it has to do with what you are thinking. The key is to concentrate on your happiest memory; with strength, that in mind and this charm, you should be able to produce a corporeal Patronus." Professor Dumbledore pointed his wand, closed his eyes in concentration and boomed, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A silvery roaring lion pounced forward from his wand and circled the room once before vanishing. Everyone applauded in awe.  
  
"Let's try it then, shall we? Mr. Potter, would you like to go first?" James smiled in a bit of a cocky manner, and Lily joined the rest of the Gryffindors in stepping back from them. He pointed his wand, closed his eyes and cried, "Expecto Patronum!" just as Professor Dumbledore had.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
James looked a bit discouraged as Professor Dumbledore smiled at him. "It's quite alright; it will come in time. How about you, Ms. Karadhras?"  
  
Anaral grinned and performed the charm. A more solid mist erupted from the end of her wand, but it was still nothing compared to Professor Dumbledore's lion. Lily knew that she could do no better, and wasn't at all surprised when a mist barely forced itself from the tip of her wand. None of the other students did much better, and they spent the rest of the class practicing the charm. It was getting a bit tiring towards the end.  
  
"To be quite honest," Anaral said as her mist faded away once again, "I wasn't sure that Dementors were dark creatures after all." Professor Dumbledore was approaching them.  
  
"How could they not be?" Lily asked, glancing sideways at James, Sirius and Remus, who were waving their wands a bit dangerously. "Have you ever been around them?"  
  
"Why, have you?"  
  
"Once." Lily was suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable with the memory that had surfaced. "Fifth year. . .I got lost on the way to Diagon Alley and ended up in this horrible place. There were all sorts of dark wizards there. It was very frightening. I found a pub where I meant to ask directions back to Diagon Alley, but as soon as I walked in, everything got cold. I felt like I was reliving every horrible thing that had ever happened to me. . .like I'd never be happy again. It got better once I left- it turns out the Dementor was looking for some escaped convict in that pub. But it was horrible. They must be dark creatures, being like that."  
  
"I am inclined to agree with you, Miss Evans." Professor Dumbledore put a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. "That is why we are studying this charm in Defense Against the Dark Arts."  
  
"Why is it so difficult, though?" Lily watched everyone around the room trying to make the charm work and failing miserably. "I don't understand."  
  
"Are you concentrating on your happiest memory? The one that brings you the most joy to remember?"  
  
Lily thought for a moment. "I don't know. Maybe I should try again."  
  
"Go ahead. I'll watch."  
  
She closed her eyes and thought back, trying to find a memory that inflated her insides like a warm balloon. She had been thinking about the day she got her letter from Hogwart's and how proud her parents had been, but that wasn't working. Nothing was.  
  
And then something struck her: the memory of hazel eyes behind glasses and charmingly messy hair. The honest, genuine interest in his eyes. Without stopping to change her mind, Lily lifted her wand and cried, "Expecto Patronum!" She opened her eyes again to see a silvery stallion galloping around the room-her own patronus, and quite corporeal. It stopped its gallop in front of her, neighed softly and let her touch its nose before vanishing into thin air.  
  
Everyone was applauding and Anaral was hugging Lily. "You did it! Wow! That was the most beautiful patronus I've ever seen. How did you do it?"  
  
"Do you want to know honestly?" Lily asked, her voice dropping to a whisper. Anaral nodded. "I thought about James, Annie. And then my patronus just. . .worked, I guess!"  
  
"Ooooh Lily!" Anaral giggled, hugging Lily again, and Lily was quite sure that she caught James Potter looking at her with pure admiration from a little ways away.  
  
*** To no one's surprise, her own least of all, the story of Lily's patronus had circled the school twice by lunchtime. She found it oddly satisfying to have First Years looking at her with an admiration that was generally only reserved for James Potter and his ilk. Even more was the admiration she received from James. She'd caught his eye more than once since the Defense Against the Dark Arts, feeling herself blush to the roots of her dark red hair each time.  
  
"Lily, I heard about your patronus!" Now it was lunchtime, and Lily had heard that very phrase no fewer than a dozen times. This time, however, it made her smile. She was beaming as the speaker, Shannon, came to join the rest of their group of friends at the Gryffindor table. Shannon had spent the entire morning in Double N.E.W.T. Herbology, so it was the first time Lily had seen her since breakfast. Her curls bobbing and dancing, Shannon gave Lily a bone-crushing hug and sat down.  
  
"Hi, Shannon," Lily laughed. "You and everyone else in the world!"  
  
Shannon laughed loudly, then lowered her voice as she saw James approaching. "Is it true what Annie said? Did you conjure the patronus when you thought of James?" she whispered.  
  
A giggle bubbled up in Lily's throat. "It's the truest one of the rumors I've heard all day!" she whispered, letting some of the giggle escape. Shannon squealed and hugged her, receiving strange looks from Remus especially as the rest of their friends sat down.  
  
"Are patronum really that exciting?" he asked, sitting down next to Shannon. Sirius, Anaral and (most importantly) James sat across from them, giving Shannon the most perplexed of looks.  
  
Lily felt herself begin to blush again, but Shannon just turned her squeal into a merry laugh. "Absolutely! Don't you find them that exciting, boys?"  
  
Sirius had raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Whatever you say, Shannon," he commented, then turned confidentially to James and said in a stage whisper, "Girls are weird."  
  
"Are not!" Anaral feigned resentment for the content and gave her boyfriend a playful whack on the arm. "It's you boys who are the weird ones."  
  
"I'm tending to agree with Annie on this one," Shannon commented, looking pointedly at Remus. "She tends to understand these things."  
  
"Back me up on this one, Moony," Sirius tried to look as desperate as possible, though failing miserably. Still, Remus nodded.  
  
"I am. What do you say, Prongs?" Everyone's eyes were focused on James who smiled over his goblet of pumpkin juice.  
  
"It seems to me," he began, leaning back to observe all of his friends, "that both boys and girls are weird, most especially when they are in love." Almost subconsciously, his hazel eyes flicked over to Lily. She saw the honesty in his eyes again and felt her breath catch in her throat. And before she could stop them, words forced themselves out of her mouth.  
  
"I agree with James."  
  
Now everyone had turned to look at her, Shannon and Anaral with wide grins on their faces, and the boys with looks of shock. James' shock was the first to fade into a genuine grin, but the others simply stared in disbelief.  
  
"I mean," Lily hurried on, trying to cover her momentarily vulnerability, "people do act rather irrationally when they are in love or even in like. It's rather stupid, if you ask me." Her face flaming, Lily stood and hurried back to her bedroom to collect her supplies for Potions that afternoon. She wasn't surprised when Shannon followed her, laughing aloud. Lily didn't care. Shannon completely understood what had happened, and Anaral probably did as well. She could live with that, but she knew that she could not live with James knowing what only her closest girl friends knew-at least not yet.  
  
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A/N: So sorry about the long wait! I forgot to e-mail this chapter to myself when I came back to school after Columbus Day. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave me a review or two! Thanks! 


	4. A Little Too Revealing

As It Was Meant to Be  
  
A/N: Four chapters-my how this baby has grown! *smile*  
  
So the last chapter was all about Defense Against the Dark Arts, Patronum, Lily's secret crush and a whole bunch of embarrassment on her part.  
  
This chapter: The night after the first day of classes and everyone is up to something. James and Sirius discuss Lily's "interesting" behavior of late. Lily and Anaral go through Lily's mail to find a clue as to how Professor Beata died. And Remus and Shannon run into a familiar face. Oooh. . .  
  
Everything you recognize from Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. Everything else belongs to me.  
  
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Chapter Four: A Little Too Revealing  
  
"What about this one, Lils?"  
  
Lily looked up from a pile of letters in her lap to see Anaral dressed in a slinky black dress. It hugged her curves, flowed like water and made her look at least twenty-five years old. Lily raised an eyebrow, especially upon seeing the plunging neckline.  
  
"I think it's a little too revealing-even though it is your. . .ah. . ."  
  
"Nine month anniversary," Anaral supplied, frowning a little at her reflection in the mirror and pointing her wand at the dress. "Modestado," she muttered, and the revealing dress was replaced with a set of robes that covered every inch of Anaral's skin. "How's this?" she asked.  
  
Lily couldn't help laughing. "I'm sure we'll fix it by Friday night, Annie. And I'm sure no matter what it looks like, Sirius will be happy to see you in it." Anaral smiled at her gratefully.  
  
"I guess you're right." Anaral walked towards her armoire and took out a pair of silky pajamas. "I hope he likes what I got him," she commented, pulling the pajama pants over her legs.  
  
"And what is that exactly?" Lily had already changed into her pajamas and was listlessly picking at a thread around the waistband of her pants.  
  
Anaral had her back turned out of modesty and called over her shoulder, "I got him a sword!"  
  
Lily felt her jaw dropping. "You're not serious."  
  
"Oh yes I am!" Anaral had finished buttoning her pajama top and was now facing Lily, her eyes gleaming. "I'll show it to you when we're done going through your mail."  
  
Lily was still confused about the sword, but relented. "I've got all the mail I received over the summer right here. . .there's a lot of it, though, so we may be up all night."  
  
"I'll live."  
  
***  
  
James and Sirius were in the common room, James playing disinterestedly with a golden snitch he had stolen during their fifth year. They were supposed to be doing a report on the uses for certain herbs in potion brewing, but they were, instead, talking about Anaral and Lily.  
  
Conspiratorially, Sirius reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvety black box. "This is what I got her," he said softly, opening the box. James' jaw dropped to see the sparkling silver necklace lying therein. A single glass charm was suspended from the center. It seemed extremely plain, but Sirius looked too devious for it to be just a simple necklace.  
  
"So what is it?" James asked, finally.  
  
"Watch," Sirius whispered and touched the charm to his lips. A tiny ghost- like image of him emanated from the charm and began to speak.  
  
"Anaral Karadhras, I love you with all of my heart," the miniature Sirius said. A brilliant light flared from the charm and the miniature Sirius was gone.  
  
"Nice work, Padfoot," James commented, but Sirius was still smiling deviously.  
  
"It gets better. The necklace has a protector charm on it. As long as Annie's wearing it, nothing can harm her," Sirius finished in a breathy voice. James was grinning wildly, but he suddenly frowned and looked down at his hands. His best friend noted the change in mood. "What is it, Prongs?"  
  
James turned honest eyes on Sirius, giving him a vulnerable look that he'd only ever shared with this one person. "Do you suppose I'll ever be giving Lily a gift like that?"  
  
"Prongs. . ." Sirius was taken aback.  
  
James sighed and sat back in his chair. "I could lose her after this year, Padfoot. We'll go our separate ways. . .she'll forget about me."  
  
Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly realized that he had nothing to say.  
  
***  
  
The Astronomy Tower was lonely and dark. It was a warm night outside, the stars shining sweetly down on the grounds of Hogwarts. Students generally were not allowed up in the Astronomy Tower when it wasn't class time or without permission from the professors. . .but the Head Boy and Girl had their own keys.  
  
His fingers were entwined in her curling hair, his lips on her lips and face. He was acutely aware of her hands clutching at his robes as she returned his kisses. She tasted so sweet and perfect-like nothing he'd ever known before. Her lips were soft, her skin was soft; everything about her was so much more feminine than he'd previously realized. They finally broke, breathless, and he smiled at her more genuinely than he ever had.  
  
"You're beautiful," he whispered. She smiled even more widely and reached to kiss him softly.  
  
"And so are you," she answered him. He laughed.  
  
"I've never heard that one before," he admitted, touching her hair again. He took a deep, uncertain breath and matched his eyes to hers. "I have something I've been wanting to ask you."  
  
She was breathless. . .she hoped she knew what was coming. "What is it?"  
  
"Well. . .I was wondering. . .well, hoping, really. . ." He was stumbling for words, something he almost never did. Finally he sighed. "I really like you, so I was wondering if you'd like to be my girlfriend-officially?"  
  
She couldn't stop smiling. "Yes!" And she kissed him again.  
  
***  
  
"Alright, so what have we got so far?" Anaral asked, sitting down beside Lily on her bed. "Just so we can have a reference point."  
  
"They're all in order, starting with the ones I received in June," Lily answered. "Beyond that, I can't really say. I haven't categorized them by author or anything."  
  
Anaral reached for the letter on the top of Lily's pile. "This one's from Shannon," she announced, scanning the length of the letter and laughing a little. "She's talking about how much she hates family holidays-this must've been when her mother announced that they were going to southern France."  
  
Lily smiled faintly. "I think so. She tried to call me around then-it was rather amusing."  
  
"Oh, you mean like on the fellow-tone?" Anaral asked, smiling brightly, and Lily had to fight to keep a straight face.  
  
"Here's one from you, Annie." Lily laughed after reading it over. "You're talking about how your father got your mother a phoenix for her birthday and how when it burst into flames, it accidentally lit the wrapping paper on fire!"  
  
Anaral laughed aloud. "That was so funny! We all learned how to do some pretty neat water charms that night."  
  
Lily giggled and continued to sift through the letters. She stopped suddenly at a letter dated from the first week of July, written in their former teacher's wobbly handwriting. "Annie, I think I've got something!" Anaral stopped sifting through her pile and listened as Lily read the letter aloud.  
  
"Dear Lily, I hope you are having a wonderful summer! This rain makes for miserable Quidditch conditions. . ."  
  
"That's right, she really did love Quidditch. She liked the Edinburgh Eagles, right?" Anaral interrupted and Lily gave her a silencing look. She mouthed the word "sorry" and Lily continued reading.  
  
"This rain makes for miserable Quidditch conditions, but the Eagles are still doing well, according to the Daily Prophet. Here in Italy, though, everyone is either a Roman Renegades fan or a Sicilian Stargazers fan. The Daily Prophet is good for keeping me informed on things happening back home." Lily paused for breath, and then continued, tucking a few stray strands of hair behind her ears. "My sister is doing well-convent life really does suit her well, and it offers her a bit of protection as well." Lily frowned as she continued. "Things are dangerous of late, Lily. Watch your back, and I can't wait to have you in my NEWT class in September! Sincerely, Professor Beata."  
  
They were both silent a moment before Anaral finally said, "Well, that answers one question."  
  
***  
  
"Maybe the best thing for you to do, Prongs, is just tell her seriously how you feel. You know, without making jokes or trying to appear better than you are. Just be yourself!" Sirius threw a pillow at his best friend, trying to lighten his mood. James just sighed.  
  
"I wish it was that easy. I mean, chasing in Quidditch? That's easy. Keeping Wormtail from getting himself into too much trouble? Piece of cake. Monthly visits with a werewolf? No problem." He sighed deeply and continued in a barely audible voice. "Telling Lily how I really feel, how I've felt for the past six years? Impossible."  
  
"Why is it so impossible? I mean, at worst, you're right where you are now, and at best. . ." Sirius trailed off.  
  
"Oh, I don't know, Padfoot, it could have something to do with the fact that she hates me. . .something like that," James answered in his most caustic voice. Sirius tried not to smile.  
  
"I don't know that she does anymore, mate. Didn't you see the way she was acting around you today?" Sirius leaned back and surveyed James. "It was almost like she didn't think that you were the scum of the earth."  
  
James shook his head. "I can't make myself believe it. I mean, every time she said something nice about me or to me, she just followed it up with an insult. Like she's purposely trying to hurt me or something."  
  
"I doubt that's the case. Lily wouldn't want to purposely hurt anyone, even you. I mean, she's always defending Snivellus for pity's sake." James laughed faintly and Sirius smiled.  
  
"What else could it be, though? I just don't understand it at all." James threw the pillow back at Sirius. "You don't think she. . ."  
  
"I don't know what to think, Prongs."  
  
***  
  
They broke apart again, significantly more disheveled than they had been before and breathing heavily. She took one look at him and laughed softly. "Not that you're usually the portrait of fine dressing, but you look a mess!"  
  
He laughed, too. "You don't exactly look too well put-together yourself."  
  
She pretended to be indignant. "I think I look lovely, thank you."  
  
His smile could have melted the coldest snow. "I didn't say that you didn't look lovely. You're more than lovely. You're amazing."  
  
It was fortunate that it was so dark out, she thought, because she certainly didn't want him to see her blushing so much. Still, she held his gaze and whispered a coy, "Thank you." He kissed her again, basking in the feeling of her lips against his. Neither of them heard the footsteps on the stairs below. . .  
  
***  
  
"So Professor Beata was in Italy," Lily stated the obvious, staring at the letter on her lap. "But I'm not sure what else this letter tells us."  
  
"Well, for one thing, she knew that her life was in danger, and my guess is that she also knew from whom the danger was. But that still leaves so many questions unanswered," Anaral sighed, taking the letter from Lily and holding it up to the candlelight as if expecting to see a hidden message there. "Like what kind of danger was she in? And who was the danger from?"  
  
"You don't suppose. . ." Lily's voice dropped to a whisper as Marilyn Fox and Carole Pound, their fellow seventh years, came in laughing about James' latest practical jokes. Lily eyed them warily, then turned her attention back to Anaral. "You don't suppose it's the same thing that's got your parents so worried, do you?"  
  
Anaral's eyes widened. "I hadn't thought about it, but it makes sense. I just wonder what it is."  
  
Lily sighed heavily. "Dumbledore must know. I'll bet you anything that Dumbledore knows."  
  
"Right, but I'll bet you anything that he wouldn't tell us for all the gold at Gringott's." Anaral shook her head. "Whatever it is, we're going to have to figure it out for ourselves."  
  
"Figure what out?" Marilyn asked, looking from Lily to Anaral with her big, chocolate brown eyes. "What are you girls talking about?"  
  
"Figure out. . .ah. . ." Anaral stammered, looking to Lily for help. Lily's thoughts whirled.  
  
"Figure out what Annie's going to wear on her date with Sirius this weekend! It's their anniversary, you know," Lily blurted a little too loudly. Neither Marilyn nor Carole seemed to have noticed.  
  
"Oooh, what were you thinking of?" Carole asked Anaral, who swiftly passed Professor Beata's letter back to Lily.  
  
"Well. . .I had this. . ." Anaral stood and walked to her armoire and produced the dress she had been altering earlier. It was back to its tight, low-cut form. ". . .but Lily thinks it's too revealing."  
  
"I can see why she'd think that," Marilyn eyed the dress strangely. "Still, I think you should wear it. Who cares if it's revealing? Sirius certainly won't mind."  
  
Lily gave Anaral a look and picked up all of the letters, letting the conversation take a pleasant turn towards Anaral and Sirius' anniversary.  
  
***  
  
The door to the Astronomy Tower banged open; Remus and Shannon parted abruptly, their faces focused intently on the bright light that came from the doorway. Shannon felt, for a brief moment, a regret that they hadn't heard whomever it was coming up the stairs, that they hadn't been quick enough to jump out of the way of the door's light. But, a stubborn voice in the back of her head insisted, you care about Remus, so who cares if you've been caught snogging?  
  
"Who's there?" Remus called, and they both heard a familiar derisive smirking laugh.  
  
"Look what I've found. The werewolf and the half-breed going at it in the Astronomy Tower," Severus Snape sneered, walking towards them. "I would have thought, Callahan, that someone like you could do better than the likes of him."  
  
Shannon felt Remus standing beside her and also jumped to her feet. "What are you doing here, then, Severus?" she asked, trying to keep her tone civil.  
  
"Not snogging any dangerous creatures, that's for sure. I've got a bit of extra credit work for one of my classes is all. Not," he added, glaring at the two, "that it's any of your business."  
  
"Smashing," Remus commented dryly. "If you'll excuse us. . ." He began to lead Shannon towards the stairs, but Severus lifted his wand.  
  
"Not so fast, Lupin. I expect Professor Dumbledore would be very interested to know how his Head Boy is using his privileges-it might even result in the loss of that Head Boy's badge!" Snape seemed to be enjoying every bit of the uncomfortable moment.  
  
"Oh sod off, Snape!" Shannon exclaimed finally. "If you can show me in the Hogwarts rule book where it says that snogging in the Astronomy Tower or doing anything else in the Astronomy Tower is illegal, I'll eat my own wand. That said, we're going." She stormed towards the stairs, Remus following her with a smile on his face.  
  
"Callahan!" She whirled around at Snape's call. "You might want to fix your shirt. Not that I'm not enjoying the view, but wearing it unbuttoned like that is a little too revealing."  
  
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A/N: Eeee I love this story. I love Remus and Shannon. I love Lily and Annie. I love James and Sirius. And I LOVE everything about this.  
  
But anyway.  
  
Next chapter: Sirius and Annie's anniversary, DADA projects (with some "interesting" partnerships), and a little more information about poor Professor Beata. Leave me some sweet reviews and keep reading!  
  
~Princess~ 


	5. The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

As It Was Meant to Be  
  
A/N: I've realized that I'm taking this story a lot more slowly than I took "Falling Through Glass" or even "Laurie Lacewing". I think that makes it better, in the long run. And I plan on writing a sequel or two to this, or perhaps a story that takes place further into the future. Whaddya think?  
  
Anyway, just for a review, our last chapter covered what happened Tuesday night. Sirius and Annie are preparing to celebrate their "anniversary" (though it hasn't been a year yet); Annie bought Sirius a sword and Sirius bought (made) Annie a charmed necklace. Annie and Lily read through Lily's old letters and found out that Professor Beata was, indeed, in Italy and that she knew her life was in danger. Sirius and James tried to figure out why Lily's attitude towards James has been different of late. And best (or worst) of all, Remus and Shannon were caught snogging in the Astronomy Tower by good ol' Severus Snape.  
  
In this chapter, Professor Dumbledore assigns term projects for Defense Against the Dark Arts and makes some interesting pairings, to say the least. Lily uses this project to disguise her search for more information on Professor Beata and her mysterious death (and to disguise her search for more information about her partner!). And Sirius and Annie celebrate their anniversary.  
  
Everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling. Everything else belongs to me. Enjoy!  
  
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Chapter Five: The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men. . .  
  
At Hogwarts, it had always been easy to fall into a comfortable schedule of doing things. After the second day of classes (which consisted of Charms with the Ravenclaws, Transfiguration and Basic Concealment), Lily found herself already in a steady routine of doing things, walking almost mechanically to her classes and not really thinking about what came next.  
  
Wednesday morning in the Great Hall had been rather interesting for Lily and her friends, especially Remus and Shannon. Lily was enjoying a nice, leisurely breakfast before classes began, when Remus and Shannon entered the Hall-together. Lily wasn't surprised in the least, but what did surprise her was the rush of whispering that followed their entrance. She gave Anaral a confused look. "Why all the whispering?" she asked.  
  
Anaral covered her mouth. "You mean Shannon didn't tell you?" she gasped. Lily shook her head.  
  
"I was asleep before she came in last night. What happened?"  
  
Anaral leaned closer to Lily conspiratorially, ignoring the odd looks they were receiving from James, Sirius and Peter (who were discussing Quidditch again). "Apparently, she and Remus were snogging up in the Astronomy Tower and they got caught by. . .by Snivellus!"  
  
"Snape, you mean?" Lily whispered. Anaral nodded. "Well, I guess their little secret's out now."  
  
Anaral giggled as Remus and Shannon came to sit down beside each other. Their friends tried (with some manner of difficulty) to avoid looking at them, but James finally broke the awkward silence. "Congratulations, mate," he called loudly to Remus. The rest of the school seemed to have been waiting for James to say or do something before really reacting and so joined in clapping and cheering for the Head Boy and his new girlfriend. Shannon, blushing furiously, gave a look of death to Anaral and Lily, who could not contain their giggles.  
  
"Oh, come on, Shannon, lighten up!" This time, it was Sirius who spoke. "You're dating someone who's not only the Head Boy, but also happens to be the only werewolf in the school. Did you expect to go quietly into the night?"  
  
"That was the plan, yeah," she muttered, taking a bite of scrambled eggs. "Though I suppose I couldn't really expect that to happen here, eh?"  
  
Lily and Anaral shook their heads and tried to stop laughing. Lily recovered from her giggles first and gave Shannon a genuine smile. "Seriously, though, we're really happy for you two."  
  
"Hmph," Shannon uttered, but she was unmistakably glowing.  
  
Charms class that morning was focused on basic, yet utterly important, Untraceable Charms. Tiny Professor Flitwick was having them learn the theory first, since testing Untraceable Charms was not exactly a convenient thing to do. Lily and Shannon passed notes back and forth during the entire lecture, so by the time the lecture was over, Lily had a more-than- comprehensive idea of what had happened between Shannon and Remus the night before in the Astronomy Tower. They were laughing as they left the classroom.  
  
"Honestly, Shannie," Lily gasped, using the pet name she only gave to Shannon in their closest moments, "you've got me thoroughly convinced that the Astronomy Tower is the most romantic place of all time!"  
  
Shannon was trying to hold back her giggles-and failing miserably. "Oh, Lils, it was so romantic! I've been reliving it almost hourly since it happened!"  
  
"Reliving what?" The rest of their friends had caught up to them. Remus was smiling at Shannon as he asked the question, slipping an arm around her waist.  
  
"Oh, nothing," she answered in a sing-song way. "You're just a good kisser is all." And she kissed him. Lily smiled broadly at the look of surprise on Remus' face.  
  
"Honestly, everyone's coupling up around here!" Anaral exclaimed happily, obviously relishing the feeling of Sirius arm draped across her shoulders like a shawl. "I wonder who will be next." She looked pointedly at Lily and Shannon did the same. Lily felt herself blushing furiously, but she managed to smile and avoid covering up her feelings with a sharp barb.  
  
To her mild surprise, James came to her defense. "Evans needn't couple up any time soon if she doesn't want to," he told her friends reproachfully, and before she could stop herself, Lily responded.  
  
"Well, you never know, James," she said softly, and clapped a hand over her mouth. Her friends all stared at her, stunned. It wasn't so much that she'd hinted that she actually was interested in someone as it was the fact that she'd called James by his given name.  
  
"No recovering from that one, Lils," Shannon commented, finally, and led Remus away. Anaral took the hint and did the same with Sirius, leaving Lily and James to stare at each other in confusion and surprise.  
  
"I. . .ah. . ." Lily stammered, trying to come up with a reason for her lapse in mental judgment. James, however, was making things very hard for her by looking at her "that way"-with complete and total sincerity and admiration. "Yeah. You never know, James," she repeated softly. James stepped closer to her, and for a moment, it seemed he would lean in and kiss her.  
  
All too soon, though, he stepped back, his cocky smile back on his face, his hazel eyes showing indifference. "No, Evans, I don't suppose you do. We oughta get to Transfiguration."  
  
"I suppose we ought."  
  
***  
  
"And then you just walked away from each other?" Shannon cried, sounding completely and totally aghast.  
  
The three Gryffindor girls were walking down by the lake, discussing the events of the day. It was sunset, and the day's events were winding down quickly. Lily nodded in response to Shannon's question.  
  
"What else were we supposed to do? Start snogging right there in the hall? I mean it was obvious, to me at least, that he didn't want to," Lily defended, reaching down to pick up a handful of pebbles. She threw one at the surface of the lake, skipping it a few times before watching it sink below. "Maybe he's stopped liking me."  
  
"No!" Both Anaral and Shannon stopped walking at that and turned to face Lily.  
  
"Lils, that would never happen. James likes you more than you can even imagine!" Anaral exclaimed. "Sirius tells me. . ."  
  
"Does he now?" Lily asked, throwing another rock at the lake where it landed with an unceremonious plop. "And how, pray tell, does Sirius know that the information he is receiving is entirely accurate?"  
  
Anaral sighed. "Lily, give it up already. James likes you, he always has and probably always will."  
  
Lily was tired of the subject. "How are your plans for you and Sirius' anniversary coming?" she asked Anaral. Shannon shook her head and sighed and Anaral looked at Lily crossly.  
  
"Don't think you're getting out of it that easy, Lily Catherine Evans," she threatened. "We're going back to our room, and I'm going to show you Sirius' new sword. And then we're going to talk about you and James, and that's all there is to it."  
  
"Too right," Shannon concurred. "Come on Lils." She took Lily's left arm and Anaral grabbed the right. Together, they marched Lily back up to the castle, turning a deaf ear to her protests until she was seated in their bedroom. She pressed her lips together stubbornly as Shannon sat down on the bed beside her and Anaral made a great deal of pomp and ceremony about pulling a long, sheathed sword out of her armoire. She drew the sword and listened to Shannon and Lily gasp in amazement.  
  
"That is quite possibly the most amazing piece of metal I have ever seen," Lily commented, finally. And so it was. Perfectly balanced and light as a feather, the sword was a brightly white shade of silver that gleamed in the candlelight. A flowing engraving was woven around the blade, a language that Lily could not identify.  
  
"It's Sindarin," Anaral explained, simply. "From the Lord of the Rings books. High Elvish, I think."  
  
"What does it say, Annie?" Shannon asked, standing to get a better look at the blade.  
  
" 'My love will be with you always,'" Anaral quoted, running a thin finger along the engraving. "It's a working sword, too."  
  
"So he could actually use it," Shannon commented softly. "It's brilliant, Annie."  
  
Anaral looked suddenly sober. "His father was supposed to give him the family sword for his eighteenth birthday, but that's obviously not happening. So I thought I'd give him his own sword, so that someday, he could pass it to his son. . ."  
  
"He'll love it, Annie," Lily assured with a warm smile.  
  
"No doubt," Shannon agreed quickly, the words sounding like nails being pounded into a coffin. "Now, Lily, about you and James. . ."  
  
"Oh come off it!" Lily exclaimed, frustrated. "Yes, I like him. I don't know if he likes me and I don't want to rush anything! Is that okay with both of you?"  
  
"We just wanted to talk about it, Lily." Anaral looked concerned. "You never know. Talking about it might help you realize some things about him that you hadn't before."  
  
"Like what? I doubt there's anything that I haven't noticed about him before. If you remember, I was the one telling you two about all of his worst traits at this time last year!" Lily exclaimed.  
  
"Let's start at the beginning, Lils," Shannon said firmly, folding her legs under her. "What made you change your mind about James? When did he turn from 'that arrogant little bastard' into," she paused and sighed a dramatic, wistful sigh, "Jaaaaaaames?"  
  
Anaral stifled a giggle and Lily rolled her eyes. "He's never been 'Jaaaaaaaaames' nor will he ever be, at least not to me."  
  
"Alright, then. What turned James from toad of the century into Prince Charming?" Shannon rephrased. "That better?"  
  
"I guess," Lily shrugged and thought back to the moment at Stonehenge when she'd noticed James staring at her. She reluctantly shared the details of that encounter with Shannon and Anaral, who sighed pathetically when she'd finished. This made Lily roll her eyes again. "It's not like suddenly the stars aligned and everything was all perfect and wonderful with violins and birds or anything," she pointed out, annoyed.  
  
"No, but close," Shannon commented, still grinning. "And you've been hooked ever since."  
  
"Has he ever looked at you that way since?" Anaral asked, gently.  
  
"No fewer than a dozen times." Lily sighed. "And every time, I just snap at him or something. He must hate me."  
  
"I doubt that," Anaral said, softly. "You've probably confused the hell out of him, but James could never hate you."  
  
"How are you so sure?" Lily whispered, suddenly feeling more vulnerable than she would ever let herself be in front of James.  
  
"Because I've seen the way he looks at you, too," Anaral answered, putting an arm around Lily's shoulders. "He would die before he ever stopped loving you."  
  
Shannon's grin had become less teasing and more genuine. "Now the only question is. . .how are we going to get you two together?"  
  
Lily reached behind her and found a pillow to throw at Shannon.  
  
***  
  
". . .and so concludes our section on Patronum. Rest assured that they will be on your N.E.W.T. examination for this class. Now. . ." Professor Dumbledore was smiling congenially at the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, all of whom had finally managed to produce corporeal Patronum, ". . .how many of you read the articles I gave you on the rise of dark wizards in ages past?"  
  
There was a cough, some muttering, and only Remus timidly raised his hand. Anaral and Lily grinned at each other conspiratorially-this was to be expected-but everyone else remained silent and nervous. Professor Dumbledore simply continued to smile gently.  
  
"That is as I expected. Ten points to Gryffindor for the conscientious nature of Mr. Lupin," he pronounced, and James and Sirius patted Remus on the back merrily. Professor Dumbledore, meanwhile, had clapped his hands, and the entire nature of the room changed. Everyone was now standing in a field of stars. Lily watched as a comet skimmed past her head and everyone drew in their breath sharply.  
  
"Wow," Anaral whispered, reaching for a tiny star just above her head. "This is amazing."  
  
"This, Miss Karadhras, is the field of memory. We are all going to take a journey back through time and learn about dark wizards past and how they were defeated. Today will simply be an overview and the assigning of projects and partners for your term project," Professor Dumbledore explained. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily thought she saw Narcissa Black nudging Antonio Zabini and laughing. "In any case. . ." Professor Dumbledore clapped again, and they stood on a barren desert field. Men and women dressed in Egyptian garb began milling around, talking silently as Professor Dumbledore lectured. "For as long as there have been human beings who had the knowledge and understanding of magic, there have been human beings who used this knowledge-and the power that came with it-to control, manipulate, and hurt multitudes of people." An impending looking Egyptian with a long black robe suddenly appeared. He revealed a wand made crudely from a reed, pointed it at several people in rapid succession, and laughed silently as they slumped to the ground, dead. "These people have had the power to instill terror in the hearts of all witches and wizards around the world. Muggles call them. . ."  
  
"Terrorists," Lily whispered as Professor Dumbledore looked pointedly at her. He nodded gravely.  
  
"Terrorists-ones who bring terror." The scene changed. Now they stood in what appeared to ancient Greece. A man was standing protectively in front of his wife and child while a wizard in a dark toga laughed and pointed his wand at them. The man fell to the ground, writhing in pain, while the woman screamed. Lily felt sick to her stomach. "For their own reasons, these wizards decided that it was their duty to take over the wizarding world. Most of them had the desire to see the extinction of all Muggles and had the idea that pureblood wizards were somehow better than others." Lily cast a glance at the Slytherins, who looked oddly unmoved by the entire ordeal. The scene changed again. It seemed that they were now in England, albeit a very ancient England.  
  
"Most dark wizards also had a vendetta of sorts against part-humans, though they often found them useful in combat. Once the battles had ended, however, they would often dispose of their 'helpers', execution-style." The lecture continued; Lily thought Remus looked pale as they watched a surly- looking old woman executing a line of centaurs and humans; Lily raised her hand, and Professor Dumbledore nodded at her. "Werewolves, Miss Evans," he explained, and Remus seemed to shrink back. James put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder, but Narcissa Black snickered cruelly, and the scene changed again to post-WWII England. Someone was weeping over a body.  
  
"The most recent of the dark wizards was Grindelwald in the 1940s. He was defeated in 1945. . ."  
  
"By Dumbledore himself," Anaral whispered to Lily, who nodded and continued to listen as the scene slowly faded back to the star field.  
  
". . .however, the possibility is always there for a new dark wizard to arise." There was a clap, and the room was back to its usual state. Lily blinked as the light seemed too bright. "Therefore, it is now time for me to assign partners for the term project. It would be preferable that all of you read the articles I gave you about dark wizards, however, it is mandatory that all of you start working on the project I am about to explain to you."  
  
"I will be putting you in groups of two. I want each group to come up with a creative and plausible way to defeat any dark wizard who may rise in your lifetime. Please take into account new technologies that may arise and every bit of magic you have learned in this class and in others," Professor Dumbledore finished, and a wave of whispers rose up in the room. Professor Dumbledore continued to smile and flicked his wand. Immediately, a piece of parchment appeared on everyone's desk. "The name of your partner is written on this parchment. Please schedule a time to get together with your partner and work on the project, and then you are dismissed."  
  
Lily hurried to her desk and reached for the parchment. She expected the name "Anaral Karadhras" to be written on the other side, but it wasn't. She nearly choked when she read the name written in loopy script on the other side of her parchment: "James Potter."  
  
She was still staring in surprise when Anaral came running over. "I was hoping for at least you or Sirius, but he stuck me with Narcissa! Can you believe it?" she asked. Lily didn't answer, and Anaral looked over her shoulder at the parchment. "Oh my god, Lily!"  
  
Lily still didn't respond. She didn't respond to anyone until James himself approached her, grinning good-naturedly. "You and me, eh Evans?" he asked.  
  
She snapped out of her daze. "Don't think that I'll be enjoying it, Potter," she snapped, and immediately regretted her words. She dropped her gaze. "I'm sorry. When do you want to do some work on this thing?"  
  
"I'm free tomorrow afternoon."  
  
"Alright. Tomorrow at two, then."  
  
"Right."  
  
***  
  
Lily still regretted her words by the next afternoon at two. It hadn't helped at all that James had been so nice about the whole situation, acting as if nothing had happened. Lily suspected that it might have something to do with the fact that the two of them hadn't been alone together since they'd been assigned as partners. Consequently, she was more nervous than she'd ever been when she met him in the library on Friday afternoon.  
  
And the nervousness was only half from the fact that she was facing James again. The other half came from a cleverly concocted plan from the mouths of Anaral and Shannon (Lily had contributed very little as she already had enough to worry about with James being her partner). Shannon had said it first: "Lils, this is the perfect opportunity for you to learn more about what might have happened to Professor Beata!"  
  
"What does Professor Beata have to do with dark wizards and how to defeat them?" Lily asked, stupidly.  
  
"Um, hello?" Shannon said rudely. "Professor Beata used to be an Auror, and a damned powerful one at that. There's no doubt, in my mind at least, that she was killed by a dark wizard."  
  
"I agree," Anaral answered. She had been altering her black dress all that evening and had finally reached a look that satisfied her. "I think it's what my parents have been all worried about. Sirius and Remus are doing something similar with their project, and I would do something similar with mine if it wasn't for Narcissa. I think it's a great idea."  
  
Lily had to admit that they were right-a Defense Against the Dark Arts project was the perfect cover for searching for more information on their former DADA professor. Still, the idea of what kind of information she might find was unnerving, almost as much as the fact that she would be spending the afternoon with James as her main companion.  
  
She was now watching the library door impatiently, waiting for him to show up so she could stop being so nervous. Shannon had hurried her out of Basic Concealment, telling her to go and get there early. Lily had rushed all the way from the classroom and burst into the library, to the frustration of Madam Pince, the librarian. That had been thirty minutes ago, and James was running late.  
  
He finally ran through the door, breathless, and spotted Lily. Ignoring the scathing glance Madam Pince was shooting at him, he walked casually over to Lily's table and sat down. "Sorry I'm late, Evans," he apologized, smiling at her genuinely. "What've you got so far?"  
  
"Oh, nothing, really. I thought it might be a good idea to. . .ah. . . research what events led to the revelation of dark wizards throughout history. I think that detection and prevention would be the perfect method," Lily proposed, breathless. James laughed softly.  
  
"And while we're at it, we'll look into the mysterious death of Professor Beata," he finished for her with a merry wink. Lily stared at him blankly.  
  
"How on earth did you know that?" she asked, finally, and James laughed, this time a little more loudly.  
  
"We boys discuss these things, too, Evans. I figured that since Remus and Sirius were planning something along these lines, you would, too." He lowered his voice. "Especially since you were so close to Professor Beata."  
  
Lily lowered her eyes quickly to the pages of the book. "Let's just get started," she said in a low voice. She could feel James watching her with concern, but ignored it and pretended to be flipping purposely through the book. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air between them for a long time. Lily tried to concentrate on the pages of the book, but for some reason, they kept blurring as her eyes kept filling with tears. She tried to avoid letting James see, but she knew he couldn't have missed the tear that dripped off of her nose and onto the book before she could stop it. She felt his hand on top of hers.  
  
"Evans," he said quietly. "I didn't mean to upset you."  
  
"You didn't," she whispered, feeling shy. "I haven't cried at all for Professor Beata. I guess it's just been building for a while."  
  
"Still. . ." James let the word hang between them. Lily looked up and managed a watery smile at him, which he returned. "You haven't read any of that, have you?" he asked, gesturing to the book.  
  
Lily suddenly giggled, quietly. "Not a word," she admitted, then sobered. "Potter. . .you must hate me."  
  
His brow suddenly furrowed in confusion. "Why do you say that?"  
  
"I'm so mean to you. I don't mean to be," Lily confessed, not sure what had prompted her to be so honest with James, "but I guess I just let my emotions get the better of me too often."  
  
"Evans, I could never hate you," James stated firmly, clasping his hands around hers. "You could never do anything to make me hate you."  
  
Lily felt awkward having this conversation with James. "Really?" she managed to ask.  
  
"Really really," James answered with a gentle laugh. "Let's get to work."  
  
The rest of the afternoon passed very pleasantly, Lily realized later. She and James laughed companionably as they did their research, and while nothing was particularly enlightening, Lily felt significantly better knowing that she was doing something to investigate the death of her favorite teacher. She and James had also seemed to grow in their friendship, she reflected as she headed back to her room. It was a good feeling-it seemed like any awkwardness that had been between them was fading. And her hand still tingled where he had touched it.  
  
She was smiling dreamily when she walked into the bedroom where Shannon and Anaral were sitting, seemingly waiting for her to get back and share with them the details of the afternoon. "You look happy," Shannon spoke up first.  
  
"I am," Lily sighed, lying dramatically across her bed. "Very happy."  
  
"I don't think this is stemming from finding out a whole bunch of information about how Professor Beata died, so I'm guessing that you had a lovely afternoon with James?" Shannon continued the line of questioning. Anaral sat down next to Lily on her bed.  
  
"Did he kiss you? Was it romantic? Are you going together now?" she asked, and Lily laughed.  
  
"No, no, no. No kissing. No romance. And we're not going together. But he doesn't hate me," she stated as if it was the most romantic thing that had ever happened to her.  
  
Shannon laughed loudly. "And they all lived happily ever after, not hating each other. Well, that's good news at least."  
  
Anaral gave Lily a pleasant smile and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Who knows what will happen next then, Lils? First comes hate, then comes love, then comes marriage. . ." she recited in a sing-song voice.  
  
"Oh hush!" Lily laughed, playfully shoving Anaral. "When is your date with Sirius, anyway?"  
  
"We're leaving for Hogsmeade at six," Anaral answered, her face suddenly looking dreamy.  
  
"Well, then, we'd better get going. It's four-thirty, and you need to look your best!" Lily sat bolt upright and marched to the closet. "No more talk about Lily's love life. It's time to give Anaral and Sirius the time of their lives!"  
  
***  
  
"Dress robes, Padfoot?" Remus was sitting on the edge of his bed, watching Sirius get dressed for his evening out with Anaral. Sirius was slowly buttoning up a set of black dress robes with a low white collar.  
  
"She wanted me to look nice, and I have no doubt that she will make it worth my while," Sirius laughed. "Watch and learn, Moony, my friend. You and Shannon will be going through this stuff soon enough."  
  
Remus grinned wildly, and it was evident that he was more than a little happy to be with Shannon. James, meanwhile, was lying on his bed, playing with the Snitch again, to the delight of Peter, who was supposed to be doing homework, but couldn't seem to concentrate. "Spare us the details, Padfoot. I don't want to know what happens between you and Annie behind closed doors," he commented.  
  
"We've never had sex," Sirius admitted. "I love her more than anything, but we've never had sex."  
  
"That's good, mate. Better for you to wait until you're more certain, you know?" Remus advised. "I'm sure it makes her respect you more. Girls are. . .like that."  
  
James laughed. "Like that, indeed. They go from calling you by your surname for seven years to randomly saying your given name one day, for no reason," he commented with a grin. Peter suddenly stopped smiling at James and turned back to his books, not really commenting.  
  
"Still living off of lovely Lily saying your name, eh Prongs?" Sirius teased, flashing a shining charm at his shoes. "That's the first step, you know. Before too long, you'll be shagging up a storm."  
  
"I would never 'shag' Lily. She means too much to me."  
  
For a moment, the Marauders stared at each other seriously before bursting out in companionable laughter that comes with knowing each other so well.  
  
***  
  
"No, you have to keep your eyes closed until she gets down here!"  
  
It was six o'clock on the dot, and Sirius was waiting in the common room for Anaral. James, Remus and Peter were sitting on the nearby couches, watching with interest, as were several other Gryffindors of varying age. At around five forty-five, Lily and Shannon had hurried downstairs and ordered Sirius to close his eyes and wait. And so he had stayed for fifteen minutes before opening his eyes a slit. Lily and Shannon had descended on him like a pair of harpies.  
  
"You'll ruin the surprise, Sirius! Keep your eyes closed!" Lily was laughing, covering his eyes with her hands, playfully.  
  
"If the woman wasn't always running so damn late. . ." Sirius muttered, but before he could get any further, a gentle voice called from the top of the stairs.  
  
"I'm coming down!" Anaral's voice said.  
  
"Okay!" Lily called back, removing her hands from Sirius' eyes. "Keep them closed."  
  
"I am."  
  
Everyone had to admit that Sirius made a sweet sight. His dress robes looked perfect on him and he'd tied his hair back into a loose, suave ponytail. His eyes were closed and his face was tilted slightly upwards with an expectant smile playing on his lips. The smile became genuine when he heard the reactions of his friends to Anaral's arrival. Finally, Lily and Shannon cried, "Open your eyes!" and he did, catching his breath in amazement.  
  
Anaral was dressed in a black, strapless dress that ended just below her knees. It was flared, and Sirius thought he caught a peek of some dark crinolines beneath. A wide, silver sash was tied around Anaral's waist, and she wore a dark choker with a small silver heart dangling from it. Her hair had been pulled back into a loose ponytail and tumbled around her shoulders flirtatiously. It was held back with another silver bow, which matched the silver bows that tied her black shoes to her feet. She smiled at him with matte red lips.  
  
"Hey, Sirius," she said quietly.  
  
He blinked and closed his mouth. "Hey, Annie. Are you ready to go?"  
  
"Almost," Anaral answered. Everyone else in the room was completely forgotten as she approached him, though they were still watching. "I wanted to give you your gift before we left. It'll match your dress robes." She looked over at Lily who produced-seemingly from out of nowhere-a long, black velvet box. For a moment, Sirius thought it might be a giant necklace and felt odd about giving Anaral the same gift, but his logical side told him that necklaces are not made that big. Anaral opened the box with her back to him and turned around with a sheathed sword in her hands.  
  
"For me?" he asked, amazed. She nodded, coyly, and Sirius removed the sword from its black sheath. It was light and so beautiful and mobile that it seemed to sing. It gleamed in the candlelight, and Sirius saw the engravings by the hilt. He held the sword up to inspect the engraving. "My love will be with you always," he read, but couldn't speak anymore. Instead he pulled Anaral into a tearful and grateful embrace. "Thank you. I love you."  
  
"I know," she teased. "I love you, too."  
  
Blinking quickly, he produced the long, slim box from his coat pocket. "For you," he whispered, and delighted in hearing Anaral gasp as she removed the necklace and watched the mini-Sirius tell her that he loved her. She teared up and hugged him, and he realized at that moment that a person doesn't necessarily have to say the words "thank you" to show how grateful they are for the one they love. He made a mental note to tell her about the protector charm later.  
  
They left to a chorus of "have funs!" from their friends.  
  
***  
  
Late that night, the friends of the couple of the hour were still sitting in the common room, waiting for them to return, though not all of them were still awake. Peter was drooling on his copy of "The Standard Book of Spells- Advanced". Shannon was lying down on the couch with her head in Remus' lap, and they were both sound asleep. Only Lily and James were still awake, talking in hushed voices.  
  
"They're really lucky to be together this long," Lily said softly. "I don't know anyone who's been together this long. Except my folks."  
  
"Well, there's Narcissa Black and that Malfoy character she's been dating since fourth year," James commented. "Nasty couple, if you ask me."  
  
"I agree."  
  
Lily leaned closer to the fire, shivering a little. "I wonder if I'll ever be that much in love." James didn't answer, and Lily realized that she'd been a bit too forward. "I mean. . .well, do you ever wonder those kind of things?"  
  
She inwardly chastised herself, but James looked at her tenderly. "I don't need to wonder. I know."  
  
"Do you, now?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And how, pray tell, do you know?" she asked, but before James could answer, Sirius and Anaral reentered the common room, hardly looking like a couple who had had the time of their lives on an anniversary date. Anaral was pale and Sirius looked furious. Their entrance jolted the others out of their previously peaceful slumbers, and they all surrounded the couple, asking them what happened.  
  
"Oh, I'll tell you what happened," Sirius barked, pushing his hair out of his face and putting an arm around Anaral protectively. It was then that Lily noticed that his sword was drawn and was dripping in blood. "We were attacked."  
  
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A/N: Sad. I wanted this chapter to have a nice, happy, lovey-dovey ending, but instead, I write them getting attacked. Ah, well. Lily and James were getting too close towards the end anyway. And it gives me something for the next chapter.  
  
Next Chapter: We'll find out what happened to Annie and Sirius on their date. We'll see connections between the Zabini family and Professor Beata. We'll see how Shannon reacts to her boyfriend's first night with the full moon. And we'll see more awkwardness between James and Lily-would you expect anything else?  
  
R/R. Happy reading! 


	6. Can't Fight the Moonlight

As It Was Meant to Be  
  
A/N: So I've recently joined Fiction Alley, since I really like their format. I was going to move this story over there and decided that it would be wise to make sure it fit all of the requirements, including that it completely matched up with the canon. So I checked against their wonderful Harry Potter Lexicon and discovered that, surprise, James and Lily were Head Boy and Head Girl. Reading that made me feel mildly stupid as I believe it's one of the more major plot points of the original series.  
  
But I digress.  
  
To make a long explanation short, this fiction is now AU, albeit mildly so.  
  
Everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling. Everything else belongs to me. Happy reading!  
  
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Chapter Six: Can't Fight the Moonlight  
  
Dinner had been lovely, or at least so Sirius assumed. To be completely honest, however, he'd been too busy watching every move that Anaral made to taste a bite of it. When they had talked about this date weeks before, he had been the one to recommend the Italian restaurant on a side street in Hogsmeade. He'd never been before, but the prices seemed expensive enough to suggest that it was a fine restaurant. He had even gone so far to reserve a private table in the back during the last Hogsmeade visit. And while Anaral kept raving about the food, he couldn't taste it, so preoccupied was he with how. . .well, good she looked.  
  
"Are you ready to go, Sirius?" Anaral asked, bringing him back to earth. He simply smiled at her, resting his chin on his hands.  
  
"You're beautiful," he commented, and Anaral blushed. "I'll get the check. Let's walk back to school."  
  
They paid and Sirius led Anaral walking down the road, his arm around her waist. She was feeling excessively snuggly and put her head on his shoulder. They walked like that for about five minutes before he stopped, gently turned her around to face him and kissed her soundly on the mouth. She returned the kiss, locking her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. Sirius wasn't sure how long it lasted, only that he wanted it to never end. They finally parted with a sigh. For a moment, Anaral was gazing into his eyes, but suddenly her gaze focused elsewhere. "Sirius! Look out!" she exclaimed. He looked behind him and ducked just in time to avoid being hit with an arrow, pulling Anaral with him. He dragged her with him behind a few barrels of mead and from there, looked to see who their attackers were.  
  
They were dressed all in black, except for a slit at eye-level. The one with the bow and arrow motioned to the others who drew their wands and pointed them at the barrel. Sirius gasped and ducked, not a moment too soon. No fewer than a dozen stunning curses flew their way. A voice yelled for the people firing curses to be careful not to attract a lot of attention their way.  
  
"Sirius, what are we going to do?" Anaral asked in a whisper. He shook his head.  
  
"I don't know. We should try to distract them and then you can get away," he told her. "I'll get out there and start firing hexes. You just run."  
  
"No!" Anaral cried as another round of stunners hit the barrel and wall around them. "I will not leave you here."  
  
There was no time to argue, and it suddenly hit Sirius that she was wearing his charmed necklace. No matter what curses were flung at them, she was safe. "Alright," he answered. "Send as many hexes in as many directions as you can. Now!"  
  
They both jumped out from behind the barrel and began firing hexes left and right at the people in black. But there were just too many of them to be attacked simply with hexes. One of the figures in black approached Sirius with wand drawn, preparing to exclaim a curse. In desperation, Sirius drew his sword and waved it wildly. It caught the figure's arm, splashing blood on the ground.  
  
Fortunately for Sirius and Anaral, some of the patrons of the nearby pub heard the commotion and started to come running outside, wands drawn. Most of the figures in black disapparated, and Sirius rushed to Anaral's side. She wasn't hurt, but her lower lip was trembling and she soon began to cry softly onto Sirius' shoulder.  
  
A few of the Hogsmeade law enforcement officials questioned them, and they had an escort back to Hogwarts.  
  


* * *

  
"My God, Annie!" Shannon jumped up and gave Anaral a protective hug. Everyone else just stared in shock and horror.  
  
"Who the hell would have wanted to attack you?" James asked loudly. It was clear that he was as angry about the events that had transpired as Sirius.  
  
"Probably someone related to my 'blessed' mother," Sirius quipped, staring at the sword in his hands. "I should probably clean this, shouldn't I?"  
  
"Might be wise," Remus agreed. "Are you two going to be alright?"  
  
Anaral took a shaky breath, but nodded. "I think. . .I think I just need a good night's sleep."  
  
"We could all use that," James stated in a final manner, and everyone stood. Remus and Peter walked with Sirius to the boys' room, and Shannon turned to Lily.  
  
"You coming?" she asked, her arm still around Anaral protectively.  
  
"Yeah. . .yeah, I'll be up in a bit," Lily answered, seeing that James was still lingering. "Just give me a few minutes."  
  
Shannon smiled at her conspiratorially and helped Anaral up to their room, and Lily slowly made her way over to where James was standing. "Potter?" she asked, then more softly, "James?" He turned to look at her. "I just wanted to say goodnight."  
  
James looked at her seriously, but she could tell that he was distracted by the evening's events. "Goodnight, Evans," he told her, gently, and she hurried up to her room.  
  


* * *

  
"Look at this!"  
  
Lily jumped a little as Anaral slammed down a stack of parchment in front of her the following Thursday. Classes were over and the girls were in the library, studying for a Potions exam. Anaral had gone to find a book on Middle Eastern Herbs and had just returned with what appeared to be the world's longest list.  
  
"What is it?" Lily finally asked. Shannon was eying the list with curiosity.  
  
"It's a family tree of all known dark wizards and witches since 2000 B.C. The top piece is the most recent. Look at this," Anaral breathed, her fingers flying down the page to the name "Zabini".  
  
"Antonio's family are dark wizards. That doesn't surprise me," Shannon quipped. Anaral was not yet through.  
  
"But look at this!" She traced a gold line tying his mother to the name "Beata".  
  
"Beata!" Lily exclaimed and flipped a page back. "It looks like Antonio's mother is—was—Professor Beata's sister."  
  
"No way!" Now Shannon was looking at the parchment with amazement. "Wow. What do you suppose that means?"  
  
"I'll bet you anything that the Zabini's were involved somehow in Professor Beata's death," Anaral explained her reasoning, playing absently with the charm around her neck. "And I'll bet you that the reason why is that they are somehow connected with a new and very powerful Dark Wizard."  
  
The girls were silent for a moment, letting the idea sink in. "Do you really think that's what this is all about?" Shannon finally asked, her eyes wide.  
  
"I can't think of anything else it could possibly be. And Dumbledore must know; that's why he assigned us those projects in Defense Against the Dark Arts," Anaral stated, turning to Lily.  
  
"He wants us to see the signs just as he has," Lily agreed. "The question, then, however, is whether or not he wants our help."  
  
"This is Professor Dumbledore that we're talking about," Shannon smirked. "Of course he wants our help. . .once we're through here, that is."  
  
"And the question that would follow, therefore, is whether or not we are willing to give it," Anaral finally stated, absently flipping through a moon chart. "Hey, Shannon. . .did you know that tonight's the full moon?"  
  
"What?" Now Shannon was on her feet and staring at the moon chart. She sank back to her seat in dismay. "My boyfriend is going to be severely incapacitated tonight. It's a shame, too. I was hoping he could. . .ah. . .help me with my Potions homework."  
  
"Well, you're not the only one going to be lonely tonight," Lily stated, giving Shannon a friendly embrace. "Sirius always goes with them, so you've got Annie to mope with."  
  
"Ahem," Anaral cleared her throat, looking pointedly at Lily. "And you won't be moping about not getting to spend time with James?"  
  
Lily blushed a deep red and listened to her friends giggle.  
  
They stayed in the library for several hours, finally leaving as the sun began to sink behind the hills near Hogwarts. Shannon wanted to have a chance to see Remus before he was sneaked away, as Anaral did Sirius. Lily was trying to pretend that she didn't care to see James at all before he left, but Anaral and Shannon made it quite clear many times that it wasn't going to work. They were walking back quickly to the Gryffindor Common Room when Anaral spotted Professor McGonagall walking Remus across the grounds. She pointed this out to Shannon who immediately broke from the group and ran as fast as she could to the grounds. Lily felt as relieved as Shannon must have been when she saw her friend catch up to the small coup.  
  
"This means we'll have to hurry if we want to see Sirius and James," Anaral pointed out and Lily shushed her.  
  
"Must you say it so loudly?" she hissed as they hurried to the tower. Sure enough, Sirius, James and (to Lily's annoyance) Peter were on their way out of the portrait when Lily and Anaral arrived.  
  
"We wanted to see you off," Anaral stated with her face buried in Sirius' neck. "It's going to be a long night of moping for us girls."  
  
"Really?" James asked, his eyes wide with surprise. A smirk appeared on his face. "Didn't realize you three had such a thing for Wormtail here."  
  
"Ha-ha," Lily stated dryly. "You just keep safe, alright, Potter?"  
  
"As you wish," James answered, bowing deeply like a knight doing a service to his lady fair. Anaral planted a quick kiss on Sirius and the boys were off to have another adventure. Lily and Anaral, meanwhile, went right into the common room to wait for Shannon to return, which she did presently, tearstains on her cheeks.  
  
"I know he does it every month," she stated in a choked voice, sitting on the couch beside Lily and tucking her legs under her. "But it's still so. . .scary."  
  
"They'll be alright," Anaral stated with no small amount of assurance. "They always are. And Sirius tells me that those are some of the best times they have."  
  
"It would be a relief if Remus would eat Peter, though," Shannon commented in a muffled voice and Lily and Anaral snickered at her. "He's just too damn clingy for our boys."  
  
"Well said," Anaral agreed, lifting an imaginary glass to Shannon's statement. "Shall we spend the night down here and wait for the gents to return?"  
  
"Might as well," Lily answered quietly, hugging a pillow to her. "Annie, did Sirius ever tell you what kinds of animals they all turn into? I've forgotten."  
  
"It's in their nicknames for each other," Anaral answered, staring into the fire thoughtfully. "Remus is Moony because he is a werewolf and transforms in the full moon. Peter is Wormtail because he is a rat and his tail looks like that of a worm. Sirius is Padfoot because he is a dog and dogs have padded feet. And James is Prongs because he is a stag and because of the prongs of the antlers." She tucked her feet underneath herself. "Did you notice how their Patronum each took the form of their animal when we were doing that unit in Defense Against the Dark Arts?"  
  
"I noticed," Lily answered quietly. "I wasn't entirely sure why they had those animals, but it makes more sense now."  
  
Shannon lifted her face from the pillow she'd buried it in. "If you were an animagus, what would you be?" she asked. Lily gave her a look.  
  
"That bored already, Shannon?" she asked.  
  
"Just play along, or I'll go up to my room and spend the rest of the night in tears."  
  
"A lion," Anaral answered suddenly. Lily and Shannon looked at her, but she was still staring into the fire. "Granted, cats and dogs don't usually mix, but I think I'd end up being a lion."  
  
"End up?" Shannon asked.  
  
"Yeah; remember in Transfiguration last year? Professor McGonagall was explaining that the animagus chooses the wizard. And you can always tell because the animal has similar markings and traits to the person," Lily remembered. "I think. . .I think I'd be an eagle."  
  
"And I'd be a horse," Shannon stated with an air of finality. "Maybe we should try and become animagi and go with the guys on their trips. What do you think?"  
  
Anaral shook her head, finally looking away from the fire. "No, it's their male bonding time. How many guys want their girlfriends showing up on male bonding time?" she asked, smiling at Shannon sweetly. "It's hard being away from them, but we have to give them time with each other. It makes them better people in the long run, if you ask me."  
  
Shannon pouted. "We'll see."  
  


* * *

  
Hours later, just past the break of dawn, the Marauders sneaked back into the Gryffindor Common Room to find Anaral, Lily and Shannon sleeping soundly on the overstuffed couches. Anaral was curled up in the corner of the couch nearest the fire, her head resting on her hand and her blonde hair falling around her shoulders like a cape. Shannon was sprawled out on her stomach opposite Anaral, and Lily was lying on her back, one arm across her middle. Before anyone else could do anything, James swooped forward and gently brushed his lips against hers. He hurried back to the other Marauders as she began to stir.  
  
"Nice one, Prongs," Sirius murmured as Lily woke up. She gave the boys a sleepy smile as she did.  
  
"What time is it?" she asked in a groggy voice.  
  
"Nearly seven. And it's Friday—you girls will probably want to shower before classes," James commented. Lily nodded and stretched.  
  
"Are you two," she began, gesturing to Sirius and Remus, "going to wake those two," she pointed to Anaral and Shannon, "or shall I?"  
  
"We'll do it," Sirius answered quickly and hurried over to Anaral. Remus, looking like he'd been through hell, made his way more slowly over to Shannon, and Lily stood and walked towards James.  
  
"Well. . .was it a good night?" she asked, running a hand through her hair.  
  
"Could have been better; could have been worse," James answered. He seemed nervous. "At any rate—well, best go get ready for classes, right Evans?"  
  
"Right."  
  
They went their separate ways.  
  
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Author's Notes: Humblest apologies for the delays in posting this! I've recently moved to England for the term, and the internet is buggy over here. It's only been working properly for about two weeks, if that. So there will probably be significant delays in chapter postings.  
  
At any rate, next chapter brings us to Quidditch practices with a new Keeper and some visits from some old friends who have lots of things to say about certain situations. . .  
  
Keep reading! 


	7. Familiar Faces

As It Was Meant to Be  
  
A/N: I welcome you now to chapter seven of "As It Was Meant to Be", with some small amount of frustration on my part. I don't particularly want there to be such a lag in posting times as there is, but some situations just can't be helped, eh?  
  
But I digress.  
  
In any case, last chapter, we discovered that Professor Beata is related to the Zabinis and watched as Shannon spent her first full moon away from her boyfriend. And there was more James and Lily awkwardness, but you knew that already.  
  
This chapter: Supported by her girls, Anaral finds a way to spend more time with Sirius. During the first Hogsmeade weekend, the gang meets up with some familiar faces who seem to have a thing or two to say about certain happenings in the magical world. And there is more James and Lily awkwardness...but really, did you expect anything different?  
  
Enjoy!  
  
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Chapter Seven: Familiar Faces  
  
"You'd think they could find another weekend to do all of this stuff."  
  
James was staring at the message board outside of the Great Hall, looking for a space to hang his announcement about Quidditch Try-Outs, but the board was so covered with announcements and papers that there was no space available. Sirius, who was also looking at the board with a smile on his face, reached forward and took hold of an announcement printed on pink parchment.  
  
"Glamour Charms by Lisa," he read aloud, seeming to suppress a laugh. "This can go. Stick it there, mate."  
  
James laughed aloud and put up his announcement where the pink parchment had been. "I dunno, Padfoot. Anyone who's ever seen you would agree with me that you could use a Glamour or two," he stated, his voice sounding serious.  
  
"Oooh, that's low!" Sirius laughed then lowered his voice to a whisper. "Look who's coming."  
  
James followed Sirius' gaze to the awkward figure of Severus Snape, lurching down the hallway. The temptation to pull out his wand and send ol' Snivellus flying into the rafters was almost overwhelming. James had his hand on his wand and was about to send a curse at his nemesis, when a flash of red hair caught his eye. Lily was standing with Anaral and Shannon, laughing about something. She turned and looked at James briefly and sent him a gleaming smile before turning back to the girls.  
  
"Not today," James answered, shaking his head.  
  
"Awww," Sirius groaned as they wandered off to the dorms.  
  
The girls, meanwhile, took the opportunity to see what James had put on the message board. "Quidditch Try-Outs," Shannon reported, reaching the board first. "Figures."  
  
"Either of you think you'll try out?" Anaral asked, smiling congenially.  
  
"Me? On a broom? I might as well just break my arm right here and now and get it over with," Lily laughed. "How 'bout you, Shannon?"  
  
"Mm, I make a better Beater than Keeper, and James is just looking for a Keeper. I don't think I would make it," she answered. "Why, Annie? Are you going to try out?"  
  
Anaral cocked her head cutely, her hair spilling down one side. "Well...I have been practicing," she admitted.  
  
"You haven't!" Lily cried.  
  
"I have."  
  
"Go for it, girl!" Shannon pumped a fist into the air as if she was some sort of cheerleader. "I mean, it really does look like a lot of fun. And it'll give you more time with Sirius."  
  
"Yeah...I know." Anaral's grin was cunning.  
  
***  
  
Try-outs were two nights later, and James was less than happy with the turnout. The only people who showed up were a skinny second year who, from his manner of walking, seemed to have the coordination of a goat on roller skates; and a fourth year who was constantly checking her hair in a pocket mirror and eyeing Sirius with a longing air about her. James shook his head at his best friend.  
  
"My friend, I think it's safe to say that, as far as Quidditch goes, we're doomed," he stated flatly, and Sirius threw back his head and laughed. He was still laughing as he spotted someone walking towards the pitch; upon realizing who it was, his smile froze. James eyed his friend questioningly and followed his gaze to the newest Quidditch hopeful.  
  
Anaral Karadhras walked onto the pitch, smiling broadly and holding her own broom. Her hair was twisted back from her face and she was wearing what looked like hand-me-down Quidditch robes. She bobbed her head in greeting to Sirius then turned her smile on James. "Quidditch try-outs today, right?" she asked conversationally.  
  
"Ah...yeah," James answered, somewhat awkwardly. "Are you...?"  
  
"Trying out? Yeah." Anaral leaned closer to James and said in a low voice, "And in case you're wondering, Lily's watching from the stands with Shannon and Remus...who aren't watching at all."  
  
James cocked an eyebrow at Anaral and turned to look at the stands. Sure enough, Lily was waving to them from a seat high in the stands. She seemed to be trying to inch away from a fawning Peter. A little ways down the bench, Shannon and Remus were snogging to their heart's content. James felt like laughing.  
  
"Alright, then. Let's get started."  
  
An hour and a half later when the try-outs ended, James was sufficiently impressed with Anaral's skills on a broom and Sirius was, as he had been during the entire ordeal, completely speechless. The second year gave a valiant effort, but his coordination made him more suited for a brilliant position cheering from the stands. The fourth year seemed more interested in giggling at Sirius than in actually trying out, and only Anaral put in any effort into keeping the goals. James was amazed with how talented she really was and told her as they were heading back to the Gryffindor tower, unofficially of course, that she was on the team.  
  
"Good to know," Anaral responded with a teasing wink, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. She stepped back to put an arm around Sirius' waist and looked up at him. "Well, what did you think?"  
  
He turned to her with wide eyes. "Ah...wow..." he finally answered, and Anaral giggled and planted a kiss on his cheek.  
  
"Surprised?" Lily was approaching the group with Shannon and Remus in tow and Peter lagging far behind. "We thought it was a great idea for her to try out, didn't we Shannon?"  
  
"Mmm," Shannon answered, though she could have been agreeing to Lily's statement or simply responding to the string of kisses Remus planted on her neck at that moment. Lily rolled her eyes.  
  
"Does anyone know when the next Hogsmeade weekend is?" Peter asked suddenly. "I kind of need a new cauldron."  
  
"Didn't you just get a new cauldron less than a month ago, Wormtail?" James asked, sounding unimpressed.  
  
"Well...it kind of exploded in Potions the other day," Peter admitted sheepishly.  
  
"I think it's actually this weekend," Lily answered, looking up into the air as if imagining a calendar. "Yes, it is this weekend—the last of September."  
  
At that, Sirius leaned over and whispered something to James, who suddenly brightened and nodded. "That would be a great idea!" he exclaimed.  
  
"What would be a great idea?" Anaral asked, looking at the two of them questioningly.  
  
"You'll see."  
  
***  
  
That Saturday dawned sunny and warm—perfect weather for a day in Hogsmeade. James, Sirius, Remus and even Peter had become increasingly more secretive all week, and the girls were beginning to really wonder what they were up to. Saturday morning, as Lily dressed in her favorite blouse and skirt, she wondered aloud again what the boys had planned. "I've never seen them act this secretive before," she admitted, pulling her hair back into a simple ponytail. "What on earth could they be planning?"  
  
"Dunno," Shannon responded, fluffing her curls absently with her fingers. "Whatever it is, though, it'd better be good."  
  
"It will be," Anaral seemed completely assured in that. She looked in the mirror briefly. "Ready to go?"  
  
Downstairs in the common room, the boys all wore secretive and amused smiles, exchanging glances and suppressing laughter. "Alright, what is it?" Lily demanded when she saw them. "You can't keep this secret forever."  
  
"You're right; we can't," James admitted. "But we can at least keep it until we get to the back room at the Three Broomsticks."  
  
"What's in the back room at the Three Broomsticks?" Shannon asked Remus sweetly, but he shook his head.  
  
"No, woman, your charms have no effect on me!" he stated and Shannon hit him playfully. The air of camaraderie continued as they made their way down the streets of Hogsmeade and into the Three Broomsticks. The barmaid, a pretty woman named Esmerelda, winked at the guys as they came in.  
  
"The back room's all yours. Rosie's going to take care of you," she said of her eleven-year-old daughter Rosmerta.  
  
"Thanks, Esmerelda," James stated, nodding at her and leading the way to the back room. He smiled at the girls as he pushed the door open. "Hope you're ready for a surprise," he stated, and opened the door. Lily, Anaral and Shannon pushed into the room and were greeted by all manner of friendly calls. They stood in the doorway astounded. Inside the room were many old friends of theirs who had already graduated from Hogwarts. Arthur Weasley was leaning back in his chair smoking a pipe and balancing his red-headed one-year-old son Charlie on his knee. Beside him sat his beautiful (and very pregnant) wife Molly, trying to slow down their two-year-old son Billy. Billy was chasing after another two-year-old, this one a girl with violent purple hair. Nymphadora Tonks ran shrieking to her mother Andromeda, who picked her up with a smile. Her husband, a milkman named Ted, was trying to explain the concept of television to Frank Longbottom, who had graduated Hogwarts only the year before. His fiancée Alice Montrose was smiling at Andromeda and commenting on Nymphadora's latest hair color. All conversation stopped in favor of greeting their old friends.  
  
"I can't believe this!" Anaral cried, rushing forward to hug Andromeda and pick up Nymphadora. "Why on earth couldn't you guys find it in your hearts to tell us about this?"  
  
"We wanted you to be surprised," Sirius answered, giving Andromeda—his cousin—a hug from the side.  
  
"Well...it worked," Lily assessed and everyone laughed.  
  
Over the course of the next three hours, the friends sat and caught up on each others' lives. Molly, pregnant with their third child, was quite certain that this one was another boy. "It runs in the family," she stated with a sigh, patting her large stomach. "I'm the only girl in a family of fourteen, and we all have red hair."  
  
Arthur, meanwhile, was terribly excited about his new position in the Ministry of Magic. "Misuse of Muggle Artifacts!" he exclaimed gleefully. "I get to spend all of my time for the next however long with Muggles. Can you imagine?"  
  
Ted Tonks was unimpressed. "We really aren't all that great," he stated. "You could come and deliver bottles of milk every morning for me, if you want." Arthur seemed elated at the idea until Ted mentioned that he was just joking around.  
  
Andromeda couldn't seem to stop bragging about her daughter. "Nymphadora," she said again with a sigh. "Isn't that the loveliest name? And a metamorphmagus at that! I keep trying to convince her to change her hair to some lovely color, like auburn or golden blonde, but she insists on these louder hues." As if to prove the point, Nymphadora scrunched up her adorable face and her hair was suddenly floor-length and a shocking shade of teal. Remus, who happened to be standing nearby, laughed and picked up the toddler in a friendly embrace.  
  
In the end, Lily was just glad to have a quiet moment to talk to Alice, who had been like an older sister to her while they were both at Hogwarts. Since Alice had graduated the previous June, Lily had missed her terribly and was always writing her long letters, describing the exciting events of Hogwarts life.  
  
"Have you two decided on a wedding date, yet?" she asked Alice, nodding at Frank, who was involved in a deep discussion with Peter about...something.  
  
"Probably next May or June. We're hoping that things will have calmed down by then," Alice answered softly, touching her diamond engagement ring. She looked at Lily with worried grey eyes. "Lils...big things are happening. Things like I've never seen before. It's frightening to say the least."  
  
"What kinds of things?" Lily put down her butterbeer and leaned in to talk to Alice in a quieter whisper.  
  
Alice started twirling a lock of curly brown hair around her finger; her round face wasn't as cheerful as usual. "Well, I'm sure you've heard what happened to Professor Beata," she stated in a low voice, and Lily nodded, dropping her gaze. "Lily, I wish I could say that it was a freak accident; that she was the only one. But she isn't."  
  
"There have been more mur...more deaths?" Lily corrected herself quickly. Alice shook her head.  
  
"Call them murders, Lily, because that's exactly what they are. A lot of them have to do with people who have connections to the Wizard Mafia." Lily stared at her blankly. "You mean you don't know?"  
  
"No; this is all new to me. What on earth is the Wizard Mafia?"  
  
Alice sighed as if the weight of the world had been placed on her shoulders. "They're based out of Italy; a string of very powerful wizard families. The Zabinis are the most notable, but they also involve the di Palvos, the Salvatores and..." Alice looked down uncomfortably, "the Beatas."  
  
"Professor Beata's family was in the mafia?" Lily gasped, trying to keep her voice low.  
  
"Most of them were," Alice admitted. "It seems like Professor Beata's father Alessandro didn't want to be a part of it anymore. He married a Muggle, against the wishes of his parents, and, as he'd hoped, they disowned him."  
  
To Lily, it sounded a lot like Andromeda Tonks' life story, but she simply nodded at Alice to continue.  
  
"Professor Beata—Marta—and her sister Maria were suited to the simple life. Maria even ended up joining a convent, as you know. But their sister Francesca started growing away from the family once she started school; she met Marcos Zabini there, and he introduced her to his world of finery, failing to mention that it was also a world of treachery, deceit and murder. They married twenty years ago and had a son and a daughter—Antonio and Sonia," Alice continued the story, not noticing that the rest of the room had grown silent, listening to her. "It seems that now, they are connected to some more powerful wizard and that he gave orders to have any blood traitor relatives exterminated. Alessandro Beata and his wife Cassandra were the first to die; Professor Marta Beata was investigating their death and making sure that Maria was safe when they found her and..." Alice stopped there, and the room was completely silent.  
  
"So there is a new dark wizard coming to power," James finally stated flatly. "What does that mean, though?"  
  
"It means that we should discuss this at another time in another place." Everyone in the room jumped and turned around to see Professor Dumbledore standing in the doorway. He was smiling fondly at Alice. "Miss Montrose, I'm glad you chose this group of people to reveal our secret to."  
  
Alice blushed furiously. "I'm sorry, Albus. I didn't mean to."  
  
"No apologies necessary," Professor Dumbledore said cheerfully. "I had hoped that these young people would soon join us in our meetings. If you are interested in learning more, I've given the contact information to Sirius; I know he is responsible. Until then, I must warn all of you not to speak of this to anyone. Beyond that, I think it wise that you return to Hogwarts immediately."  
  
This was agreed upon by all involved. They said their good-byes and hurried back to the castle in the pinkish hues of a brilliant sunset. All were silent as they returned to Hogwarts; after all, they had a lot to think about.  
  
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A/N: As happens so often in my writing, that did not come out the way I first intended it to, but I think it went well. I'm rather impressed; I've managed to complete an entire chapter in an afternoon. Go me!  
  
Ahem.  
  
At any rate, the next chapter is going to be more flashbacks than anything else, and the following chapter will bring us to the Marauders' first time at an Order of the Phoenix meeting. *grins* It's so nice to have a plan.  
  
Happy reading! 


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